​A new study has found that people enrolled in high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) are more likely to consider costs and quality when considering non-emergency care.
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Workplace violence is defined by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as “violent acts (including physical assaults and threats of assaults) directed toward persons at work or on duty.” A serious safety and health issue, no federal law specifically addresses violence in the workplace; however, there are laws that impose a duty on employers to maintain a safe workplace.

For example, the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) imposes a general duty on all employers to provide employees with a workplace that is free from hazards. Federal civil rights laws also require employers to keep the workplace free threats of violence, and state workers’ compensation laws make employers responsible for injuries sustained by employees at the workplace.

Health care workers experience substantially higher rates of injury due to workplace violence compared to workers overall.  According to a study conducted by the Government Accountability Office, the rate of violence against health care workers is up to 12 times higher.

In an effort to help stem the rising rate of workplace violence, Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT) introduced bill H.R. 7141. The proposed legislation would direct OSHA to issue a standard requiring health care employer to develop and implement workplace violence prevention programs.
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LMC Insurance and Risk Management (LMC Insurance) announced today the launch of a new health insurance solution that is underwritten by Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield for Iowa-based employers with 51-500 eligible employees. The program, referred to as the Employer Coalition, will be available beginning Jan. 1, 2019. It will provide a more predictable insurance pool with features designed to stabilize costs long term, simplify administrative burdens and help employees better understand and utilize their benefits.

“Our goal is to create an innovative, new health insurance offering derived from the results of information shared from employers across the state of Iowa in our Midwest employer benchmarking survey, Share to Compare,” said Richard DeBartolo, Senior Vice President of LMC Insurance. “Today, employers in the fully insured market are asking for more influence in the decisions impacting their health insurance programs. Employers are looking at plans and technology designed to drive better consumerism.”
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Health literacy refers to the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. Health Literacy Month, observed each October, aims to close the gap that exists between the way healthcare is communicated and the ability of most people to understand the information.
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According to the National Action to Plan to Improve Health Literacy, nearly 9 out of 10 adults don’t fully understand routine health information. People who have difficulty understanding how to prevent and manage their health are more likely to skip needed medical treatment, go to the emergency room more often, and tend to make mistakes with their medications.

Did you know that 60.3 million U.S. workers are affected by workplace bullying? A 2017 survey conducted by the Workplace Bullying Institute found:

• 70% of perpetrators of abusive conduct are men
• 61% of bullies are bosses
• 66% of all targeted workers are women
• Male perpetrators target females 65% of the time
• Female perpetrators target females 67% of the time
• 40% of targets are believed to suffer adverse health consequences from bullying
• 29% of targets remain silent about their abusive conduct; only 17% seek formal resolution

Bullying is generally defined as the use of intimidation through power, influence, tone or language to affect a person negatively. It is often intentional; however, sometimes the bully is not aware of his or her hurtful actions or words.
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OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard, or BBP standard, requires workplaces to have policies and controls in place to protect employees from needlestick injuries and exposure to bloodborne pathogens.  The standard defines engineering controls, such as sharps disposal containers, self-sheathing needles, safer medical devices such as sharps with engineered sharps injury protections and needleless systems that isolate or remove the bloodborne pathogens hazard from the workplace. 

Today’s employers face two certainties: rising healthcare costs and difficulty optimizing preventive care dollars. With growing pressure to deliver results, the real challenge is unifying the data to identify and measure effective health strategies.

Solving this modern day problem requires a modern day solution, which is why LMC has partnered with Springbuk to provide employers with comprehensive insight into historical and future health expenditures, wellness vendor performance, intervention program efficacy, and population health strategy.

Springbuk’s platform enables LMC to work in tandem with our clients to unify wellness, claims, demographic, and biometric data to identify immediate savings opportunities and track efficacy of wellness intervention programs. With this data LMC is able to provide actionable recommendations, including: guideline gap analysis, chronic and acute impact analysis, risk profiles, potential cost aversion analysis, physician profiling, and utilization analysis.

“LMC’s partnership with Springbuk enables us to help our clients to better manage the health of their insured population, which in turn leads to reduced healthcare costs, healthier employees, and more strategic allocation of resources,” states Rick DeBartolo, LMC senior vice president.
 
About Springbuk
Springbuk works with leading consultants and wellness solution providers to improve reporting, engagement and results for employer clients. The platform has processed over $7 billion in claims and uncovered nearly $250 million in health savings opportunities within employer groups.  More than 1,500 employers turn to Springbuk for trends and best practices in population health.

There are many reasons why it’s important for health care providers to pay close attention to the management of their equipment. Because medical equipment plays a key role in diagnosing and treating patients, regular equipment maintenance is a must for keeping patients safe and comfortable.

Having equipment malfunction unexpectedly isn’t just inconvenient, it can affect patient safety. An equipment maintenance program includes procedures for inspection, as well as preventive and corrective maintenance to ensure that equipment is safe to use and is providing accurate results. When medical equipment is routinely inspected, potential issues can be identified and resolved prior to equipment failure.