In 1987, Health Minister Michèle Barzach imposed the liberalization of syringe sales in France. For a long time, the struggle against HIV rested on this political measure alone. In Europe, buprenorphine for the treatment of opiate addiction was first registered in France and by the year 2000 was available [...]
In my December 13, 2019, article on Switzerland’s Approach to the Opioid Epidemic, I detailed the history of the Swiss opioid epidemic and the “Four-Fold” Approach they used to address their epidemic. While the Swiss stressed prevention, they also allowed for a controversial (in the US) Heroin Substitution Program [...]
Today is World Kindness Day. On this day, participants attempt to make the world a better place by celebrating and promoting good deeds and pledging acts of kindness, either as individuals or as organizations. What does that have to do with workers’ compensation? I have attended multiple sessions at [...]
In Part 1 of this series I touched on the ANA Position Statement providing ethical guidance and support to nurses and some of the responsibilities a nurse has when managing a patient in pain. I was asked after publishing Part 1 why a Case Manager would be responsible for [...]
Last week I attended the CCMC case management conference. I usually attend the WCRI conference every year and this year the schedule for the two conferences conflicted. I missed WCRI and #1 felt a little bit left out, and #2 it was in Arizona instead of Boston in February, [...]
The URAC Accreditation Committee met on August 14, 2018 and reviewed the CompAlliance application for re-accreditation for Workers’ Compensation Utilization Management Version 7.3 Program. The Accreditation Committee voted to grant CompAlliance FULL Accreditation pursuant to the Workers’ Compensation Utilization Management, Version 7.3 Program. This award is effective from September [...]
The role of nurses as patient advocates is well recognized by healthcare professionals and I believe is becoming more frequently recognized in the workers' compensation industry. However, I believe actually understanding the meaning of the role of advocate for the patient, or injured worker, is frequently misunderstood by all parties, [...]
CompAlliance received a letter from a petitioner's attorney requesting we provide our rationale for utilizing the clinical practice guidelines we currently use as "the National Guideline Clearinghouse has withdrawn approval." In addition, the "guidelines are neither dictated nor mandated in Illinois." To answer the second part of this attorney's [...]
