Injury Treatment and Management

The centerpiece of IWIRC’s business model is our injury management services. The cost of lost-work days to an employer exceeds the medical costs for an average workers compensation claim.  The number one controllable cause of extended lost-work days is the breakdown in communication between medical clinicians treating the patient.  These include doctors, therapists, diagnosticians and pharmacists.  The best solution to this problem is to bring all of these services together, working within the same organization, in the same building, under the same management. 

Employers are required by law to meet the health needs and the financial security of their employees in two ways:

• Through compliance with Workers Compensation laws
• Through compliance with OSHA regulations

Injuries on the job are a daily occurrence.  The success of an injury treatment program will depend in part on these key operational features:

• Expediency and continuity of service
• Standards of Care
• Practice Guidelines
• Convenience
• Continuity of management
• Communication
• Treatment and Follow-up of Work Related Injuries

IWIRC clinicians work side-by-side and communication is perpetual; they are not waiting for a fax or phone call from a different organization in regard to their patients.  Lost-work days are eliminated or kept to a bare minimum.  Another significant cause for extensive lost-work days occurs when clinicians who do not specialize in work injury provide treatment.  Utilizing occupational health physicians and staff that specialize in and only treat work-related injuries has proven to reduce lost-work days and a number of other associated costs.  IWIRC is the first and only organization in central Illinois utilizing occupational health specialists with a "one stop shop" concept.

The purpose of our workers compensation program is threefold:

• Prompt evaluation, treatment, and/or referral of work related injuries utilizing IWIRC, or during non-clinic hours, the Methodist MedPointe or the Methodist Emergency Department
• Safe return of the injured employee to the work place through timely communication and feedback between IWIRC and employers
• Reducing the risk of legal and compensatory claims

The goal of IWIRC’s follow-up program is the reduction of the lost-work time and increased productivity through early medical intervention and rehabilitation.  When an employee is injured on the job, and is seen at IWIRC, we will automatically begin monitoring the injured employee.