On-Site Medical Support: 3 Methods to Treat Injured Workers Without Leaving Site
Reid C. Lenhart CSP, Senior Safety Director, Concrete Strategies
In the modern construction era, contractors are placed under the microscope through rigorous pre-qualification processes set in place by general contractors, ownership groups, and clients. Lagging indicators such as OSHA Recordable Rate, DART Rate, and EMRs are ways in which a company’s safety performance is reflected in past performance and can ultimately make or break the decision of being awarded the work. Contractor-Controlled and Owner-Controlled Insurance Programs (CCIP / OCIP) tend to favor contractors with lower lagging indicator rates as it lessens their exposure and risk on the project. Potentially an organization’s lagging metrics are its Achilles Heel in securing more work. How can an organization improve its position and performance going forward to remain competitive? The answer may only be a phone call away.
As contractors we bring everything to the job site: materials, equipment, and our workforce, but why in the instance of a non-life-threatening injury do we take an injured worker off-site? There are multiple ways in which an injured employee can receive an evaluation and receive the appropriate level of care without ever having to leave the project. Depending on several factors such as budget, location, and project duration, here are 3 ways in which to provide care to an injured team member without ever having to leave the job site.
1.) Telephonic Occupational Medicine Triage
Telephonic Medical Triage is by far the most cost-effective and accessible way of assessing and caring for an injured employee with a minor non-life-threatening injury. There are multiple services available that after an account is established, a 1-800 number is made available, and wherever there is phone service, a Registered Nurse or Doctor is on the other end of the line ready to assess the injured employee and provide care recommendations. These care instructions are also provided via email or text to the employee as well and allow for follow-up calls along with the First Aid case management. If the injury is more serious, the nurse or doctor will recommend that the employee be taken to the Occupational Medicine Clinic or Emergency Room. It is important to note that some of these telephonic services provide translation services so the worker can have a conversation in their native tongue. For additional documentation, the calls can be recorded, and that information utilized later if needed by a doctor or claims manager.
2.) Mobile Medics
Mobile Medics are available in select markets across the country and are becoming more popular due to demand. These organizations are staffed by medical professionals with extensive training such as paramedics, EMTs, registered nurses, and physicians. The professionals are on call and usually stationed less than a couple of hours away from the job site. Paired with formal medical training and experience, these responders are also trained specifically in OSHA recordability. They are equipped with a jump bag containing First Aid care items only, ensuring that care given past First Aid is not provided possibly resulting in an OSHA Recordable on-site. Telephonic triage is typically a part of the service to aid in the overall case management of the injury while the medic is being dispatched to the site.
3.) On-Site Medical Professional
On-site medical professionals over the last 5 to 10 years have become more visible on large-scale, high-profile, and long-term construction projects. Given this is the most expensive of the three solutions, typically having a full-time on-site medical professional is driven and paid for by the general contractor or the owner. Like mobile medics, these medical professionals range in education and experience from RNs to MDs. There are multiple advantages such as instant access to care, easily accessible follow-ups, and consistent case management by the same treating medical professional. Other services usually offered by on-site medical professionals may include drug and alcohol testing, respirator fit testing, and wellness coaching.
It is vital to remember when an injury occurs that we are construction professionals and that initial triage is key, but enrolling medical professionals will enhance the level of care and treatment of our injured workers. Furthermore, engaging a medical professional service alleviates mismanagement of care by a supervisor, it also builds trust with the worker that the company engages an outside medical professional source to provide a non-biased evaluation. An injured team member must receive the appropriate level of care for the injury that they have sustained. Experience has shown us that Emergency Rooms and Non-Occupational Medicine Clinics do not always understand the intricacies of OSHA Recordability and that their over-treatment of the injury has an impact on the organization on a broader spectrum. Employers can entrust the care of their injured team members together with the overall organization’s metrics to these types of occupational medical responders who understand the complexities of care and OSHA Recordability.