Company Uses Analytics to Safely Reduce Injury Recovery Times
HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV)
today announced that it has developed the first predictive model
designed to reverse a sharp rise in chronic pain caused by workplace
injuries. The patent-pending Travelers Early Severity PredictorSM
identifies the likelihood of an injured employee developing chronic pain
so that they can avoid it in recovery and reduce the need to use opioids
or other painkillers.
“Millions of American workers are injured on the job each year, and the
number of cases in which chronic pain interferes with an employee’s
recovery has risen from less than 10 percent a decade ago to more than
half of all serious injuries today,” said Dr. Adam Seidner, the National
Medical Director at Travelers. “When someone develops chronic pain, they
are prescribed opioids or other painkillers more than 90 percent of the
time. Our goal is to work with injured employees and their doctors to
eliminate or substantially reduce the need for painkillers that can slow
their recovery or lead to devastating long-term addiction.”
The Travelers Early Severity Predictor has been applied in more than
20,000 cases since early 2015. Of those, more than 9,000 injured
employees were identified as being at risk of developing chronic pain.
These employees received a customized, sports medicine-like regimen of
treatment precisely sequenced to aid and accelerate their recovery.
Injured employees who participated in the program in the past year have,
on average, recovered and returned to work more quickly. They were also
far less likely to receive a prescription for opioids, and when they
did, it was typically a lower dosage or only for short-term use. At the
same time, medical expenses, which cost American employers an average of
nearly $40,000 per injury, were reduced by as much as 50 percent.
“Helping employees avoid chronic pain and the slippery slope to possible
opioid dependency is critical to reversing this disturbing and costly
health crisis,” added Seidner.
Travelers is the leading workers compensation carrier in the United
States. The company manages more than 250,000 workplace injury claims
and 3.5 billion medical treatments per year.
About Travelers
The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV)
is a leading provider of property casualty insurance for auto,
home
and business.
A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Travelers has
approximately 30,000 employees and generated revenues of approximately
$27 billion in 2015. For more information, visit www.travelers.com.
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Media:
The Travelers Companies, Inc.
Robert DeMallie,
860-277-9026
Source: The Travelers Companies, Inc.