When navigating the workers' comp system, injured employees face the following challenges:

Low health literacy: This type of literacy has to do with the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information in order to make appropriate health decisions. Many groups — such as older employees, minorities and those living in underserved areas — may be more at risk for low health literacy. The United States Department of Health and Human Services reports that 1 in 3 adults has a basic or below basic level understanding of health information.

Health misinformation & disinformation: As we experienced during the pandemic, misinformation and disinformation can be serious threats to a person's health. Health misinformation is information that is false, inaccurate or misleading. Disinformation is misinformation that is spread intentionally to serve a malicious purpose, such as to trick people into believing something for someone's financial gain or political advantage. Oftentimes, misinformation and disinformation are framed in a highly sensational and emotional manner, making it easy to spread quickly or go "viral." Social media platforms and search engines have also contributed to the rapid spread of this type of information. One study found that false news stories were 70 percent more likely to be shared on social media than true stories.

Complex clinical information collides with chronic conditions: More Americans are living with chronic conditions, such as diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure. This trend impacts injured employees as well. According to the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), the average cost of workers' compensation claims connected to a comorbid condition is almost twice as much as that of comparable claims that do not involve comorbidities.

When employees are dealing with a chronic condition alongside a workplace injury, it can be much more difficult for them to navigate their own care. They need to track how their condition interacts with their injury, treatment, recovery and medications — for example, having a preexisting disease can often delay the recovery process.

Fast pace of change in clinical understanding: The COVID-19 virus is still relatively new to researchers. The number of discoveries that scientists have made regarding the virus has been astounding and fast-paced — and, as such, our knowledge, protocols and safety measures have all had to evolve as new information has emerged.

Even within our own organization, we experienced first-hand the accelerated rate of clinical advancements. When the pandemic initially hit, we established proprietary COVID-19 guidelines, which served as an invaluable resource for our case managers and customers. But since their initial development, these protocols have had to evolve to include over 30 updates. This illustrates the constantly evolving nature of scientific and medical knowledge and, as an industry, we need to stay abreast of such developments in order to utilize the most up-to-date information.

Social determinants may throw a curveball: Cultural differences, language barriers, and a host of other social determinants can also make it challenging for injured employees to navigate their care. For example, let's consider some of today's generational issues. Scheduling and attending appointments have gone virtual thanks in large part to the pandemic leading to a rapid adoption of telemedicine. But this trend also requires some proficiency with technology.

In other cases, being able to engage in a person's own care means the individual must feel comfortable enough to question a physician, and at times, even challenge that physician's treatment plan. But certain generations highly respect physicians and their medical opinions, so they won't second guess their recommendations.

Special Reports /

Empowering injured workers to participate in their recovery

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