Data Integrity: Understanding Foundational Clinic Data

Good data integrity means a report that is more likely to stand on its own when scrutinized. What does it mean for your impairment report data to have integrity? Data integrity is a concept we’ve developed at RateFast which represents the quality of the data that was put into the creation of the report, since the outcome of a report is only as good as the data that was provided.

Data integrity is provided with each RateFast report as a means to keep the claim as transparent as possible for stakeholders.

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RateFast Podcast: Workplace Harassment Pt. IV of IV – A Wretched Chain of Command feat. Paul Costa and John Lavietes

This is the fourth and final episode in our four part series, where Dr. John Alchemy speaks with returning guest, historian Paul Costa and professional copywriter John Lavietes about the subtle dynamics of workplace harassment, how it can be spotted, and what to do about it if it’s happening to others, or yourself.

Here is a link to Paul’s site, and here is a link to John’s LinkedIn.

RateFast Podcast: Workplace Harassment Pt. III of IV – The Time-Honored Tradition of Corruption feat. Paul Costa and John Lavietes

This is the third episode in our four part series, where Dr. John Alchemy speaks with returning guest, historian Paul Costa and professional copywriter John Lavietes about the subtle dynamics of workplace harassment, how it can be spotted, and what to do about it if it’s happening to others, or yourself.

Here is a link to Paul’s site, and here is a link to John’s LinkedIn.

If you’re a workers’ compensation provider, adjuster, or case manager check out RateFast Express: the service that writes your impairment reports with you!

RateFast Podcast: Workplace Harassment Pt. II of IV – The Rotten Path to Power

This is the second episode in our four part series, where Dr. John Alchemy speaks with returning guest, historian Paul Costa and professional copywriter John Lavietes about the subtle dynamics of workplace harassment, how it can be spotted, and what to do about it if it’s happening to others, or yourself.

Here is a link to Paul’s site, and here is a link to John’s LinkedIn.

If you’re a workers’ compensation provider, adjuster, or case manager check out RateFast Express: the service that writes your impairment reports with you!

 

Reminder: We Have an Interactive Map of the Work Comp Rules in the United States!

Click here to go to our US Map of Workers’ Compensation!

Have you ever wondered what version of the AMA guides are used in South Dakota? How many states use a state specific ruleset for determining impairment? What is the oldest version of the AMA Guides in use?

Whether you need a question answered for your workers’ comp practice, or you’re just plain curious, we have a map for you!

The RateFast US Map of Impairment Rules

back in 2018 we put this map together to give any party in a work comp claim access to their state’s rule set, as well as some resources that will help them smooth the work comp process.

5 years later, we are still maintaining that US map, and want to make sure that you know that it’s there!

Updates

We have recently updated the map with a helpful key, in order to more clearly read the map and find your state’s ruleset.

It is also important that we make sure that the map is always up to date, so we make an effort to regularly maintain our map page.

Conclusion

Sometimes work comp providers operate in a different state than their patient’s injury. Adjusters and other parties often work across state lines. There are many situations where one might need a US map of workers’ comp state rules, and we’re happy to provide it!

RateFast Definitions: California Doctor’s First Report of Occupational Injury or Illness (DFR)

In California, a doctor’s first report in a workers’ compensation case is known as the “Employer’s Report of Injury or Illness” (Form DLSR 5021). This form is used to report an employee’s work-related injury or illness to the employer and the California Division of Workers’ Compensation. The doctor who treats the employee must complete the form, which includes information about the employee’s diagnosis, treatment plan, and estimated duration of disability. The form is typically submitted to the employer and the insurance carrier within five days of the employee’s first visit to the doctor.

What is an I&A (Information and Assistance) Officer?

In California, an I&A (Information and Assistance) officer is a representative from the Department of Industrial Relations whose job it is to provide information and assistance about workers’ compensation in California.

Each state has its own workers’ compensation system, which is made up of government offices, insurance companies, law offices, doctors offices and hospitals, workplaces, and workers. While there is easily accessible information about workers’ comp on the DIR website, it can be very helpful to speak with someone who can point you in the right direction.
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Workers’ Compensation Hell: Getting Through to the Other Side

This post is based on a five-part podcast series that we did with art historian Paul Costa covering the topic Dante Alighieri, his seminal work Inferno, 1800s French sculptor Auguste Rodin, and his famous piece The Gates of Hell. We encourage you to check it out! 

Injured workers who have spent enough time stuck in the workers’ compensation system very well may refer to their experience with the process as hell. 

We’re referring to claims that have dragged on for 6 – 10 months and beyond. The harrowing experience of being stuck in the claim can be equal to, and sometimes worse, than the workplace injury itself.

Here we examine just how these work comp claims can be like hell, specifically from the perspective of Dante’s work, Inferno.

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A Radical Revisitation of Radiculopathy

Radiculopathy, that’s when a T-Rex with sunglasses does a skateboard trick right? Nope.

Is that when you have an injury in your back? Getting warmer but not entirely true.

Well, what is it then?

This is why we’ve deemed it necessary to revisit this somewhat confusing, but nonetheless ‘rad’ term used in medicine.
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Workers’ Comp: the Central Issue in California’s Battle over Prop 22

Hector Castellanos, a full-time driver for rideshare giants Uber and Lyft, was injured in the course of work when he was struck by another car “I was hit by another driver while I was working, ended up needing the surgery and months of physical therapy, and I had to stop working for about a year,”

This issue was taken to court after Castellanos alleged that he had been promised a pay raise and increased healthcare by the company, a promise that had not been fulfilled.

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