Texas Workers' Comp Forum:
Receive vital legislative and case law updates and proven cost-containment solutions from leading industry experts.  Some of the session topics include:  Workers’ Comp Case Law Updates; Innovative Cost-Control Strategies; New Workers’ Comp Legislation; Combating Fraud; Return-to-Work Programs; Claims Management Tactics; Untangling the FMLA, ADA and Workers' Comp Web; Health & Wellness Programs; Risk Management Best Practices; and Workplace Accident Investigations.  This is an event every Workers’ Compensation, Risk Management, Health, Safety, Insurance, and Human Resource professional should attend.

• First response: What every employer should do immediately after an accident or injury
• Compensability issues: Deciding if the injury is covered under workers' compensation
• Medical treatment: Working with medical providers to reduce the risks and get employees back to work
• Handling a disputed claim before it ends up in court: Mediation and other alternative dispute resolution strategies that can save you time and money
• Working through the Texas Division of Workers' Comp process on disputed claims

Jane Lipscomb Stone, Esq., Senior Partner
STONE LOUGHLIN & SWANSON, L.L.P.

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• Developing an investigation procedure before you need one
• Preparing forms useful in claim investigations, including statements from injured employees, supervisors, and eyewitnesses
• Determining the best investigator for a claim
• Developing a procedure to conduct successful investigations: Collecting facts, interviewing witnesses, and compiling documentation
• Critical questions to ask immediately following the accident that will elicit the information you need
• What your accident report should say and other important documentation issues

J. Alfred Southerland, Esq., Partner
OGLETREE, DEAKINS, NASH, SMOAK AND STEWART

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• Update on the state regulatory requirements associated with nonsubscription
• Case law update for nonsubscribers
• Defining the elements of a successful nonsubscriber program
• Determining the feasibility of opting out: Tools and data in the decision-making process
• Where do we go from here? Will there always be an option to opt-out of the Texas workers' comp system?

Steve Bent, CAE, CWCP, Executive Director
TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF RESPONSIBLE NONSUBSCRIBERS (TXANS)

Douglas C. Bracken, Esq., Senior Counsel
UNDERWOOD, PERKINS & RALSTON

John Sterrantino, President
WILLIAMSRIPA & ASSOCIATES, LLC

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Stuart D. Colburn, Esq., Shareholder
DOWNS STANFORD, P.C.

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Albert Betts, Workers' Comp Commissioner
TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE - DIVISION OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION

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• Implementing proactive policies: Having airtight policies and practices in place that ensure your claims process is fair and timely
• Educating your employees on their rights and responsibilities
• Ensuring communication with all parties in a claim
• Electronic billing and denial of medical payments-where you can get fined
• An employee is pursuing a bad-faith claim; what now?

Stuart D. Colburn, Esq., Shareholder
DOWNS STANFORD, P.C.

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• Implementing claims-management best practices that will keep your costs from spiraling out of control
• Identifying the holes in your claims process: How much are delays and unnecessary errors costing you?
• Using modified duty to reduce medical costs and keep injured workers connected to the workplace
• Handling the injured worker who is unable to return to the same job or the same employer

Carol Scheffler, Workers’ Compensation Claims Manager
NORTHEAST INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

Rosemarie Ritchie, Workers’ Compensation Medical Analyst
NORTHEAST INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

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Dennis Downing, President
FUTURE INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGIES

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• Initiating an accident investigation: Preserving the scene and conducting witness interviews
• Blazing the paper trail: The importance of timely notification and contemporaneous recordkeeping
• Performing a comprehensive accident scene safety audit to determine whether a latent hazard was the cause and to prevent additional incidents
• How prompt management intervention can ease employee concerns and keep them from running to an attorney
• The 24-hour checklist: Information to keep on hand to correctly respond to injuries

Gregory W. Welch, CSP, Department Manager, Safety & Industrial Hygiene
B&W PANTEX

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• Taking a look at the most commonly prescribed drugs in workers' comp today
• The pros and cons of PBM plans: Do they help manage costs?
• What can you do when you suspect an employee may be misusing prescription drugs?
• Lifetime medical benefits and prescription drugs: Ratcheting up costs
• Drug addiction and workers' compensation: A danger in the Texas workers' comp system?
• Does your utilization review look at prescription drugs, not just the injuries being treated?

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Moderator

William O. Ashcraft, Esq., Principal
THE ASHCRAFT LAW FIRM

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Jill Laster, ARM, DRM, Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources and Risk Management
TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY

Pat Crawford, Return to Work Education Coordinator
DIVISION OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION - TDI

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• The access to care question: Are the networks providing care where it is needed?
• Legacy claims and HCNs: Bringing old claimants to the new systems
• The cost factors: How do the costs compare to nonnetwork claims
• Quality of care: Are HCN medical outcomes measuring up to regular comp medical care?
• Communication issues: Is there a disconnect between the networks and the carriers/employers?
• Regulating voluntary networks and "silent PPOs"

Moderator

Olga Escobedo, Team Lead
HWCN DIVISION, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE

Panel

Wanda Estrada, CWCP, CPDM, RWCS, Health Services Manager
MILLER BREWING COMPANY

Sam J. McMurry, ARM, Administrator, Workers’ Compensation
LOCKHEED MARTIN AERONAUTICS COMPANY

Amy Lee, Director, Workers’ Comp Research & Evaluation
TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE

Misti Jeffryes, Workers’ Compensation
AMR CORP/AMERICAN AIRLINES

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Stuart D. Colburn, Esq., Shareholder
DOWNS STANFORD, P.C.

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Howard L. Smith, MD, Medical Advisor
TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE - DIVISION OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION

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• Managing your self-insured network effectively to minimize the claims challenges you face
• Working with your TPA to increase communication and minimize problems
• Avoiding the most common mistakes self-insured employers make
• Maximizing claims-handling efficiency to minimize costs

J’Don Bollom, BSN, RN, Occupational Health Manager
HYATT CORPORATION

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Linda Spacek, CPM, CGBA, Assistant Director, Human Resources/Risk Management
CITY OF SAN MARCOS

Cindy Conyers, Loss Prevention Manager
CITY OF SAN MARCOS

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Melissa D. Tonn, MD, MBA, MPH, FAADEP, FACOEM, President and Chief Medical Officer
OCCMD GROUP, PA

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• Preventing common communication breakdowns between claimants and employers
• Alternative dispute resolution: What works in resolving contested claims
• Key elements of the Texas adjudication process: What you can do to enhance your chances of winning a contested-case hearing in Texas
• Avoiding the common mistakes that can send claims to litigation
• Understanding how effective documentation and recordkeeping will enhance your chances of success in litigation
• Appealing workers' comp decisions to the Texas District Court

Timothy U. Stanford, Director
DOWNS STANFORD, P.C.

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• Proactive strategies to prevent fraudulent claims and malingering
• Gaining valuable information from conducting thorough background and activity checks
• Investigating suspicious claims: What works and what does not
• Stopping fraudulent claims and other common schemes to collect unwarranted workers' comp benefits
• Prosecuting fraud in Texas: What your organization can do to help prosecute workers' comp fraud

Dennis Pompa, Associate Commissioner and Director
TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE FRAUD UNIT

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• Understanding the elements of a successful return-to-work program
• Taking a look at the MDA return-to-work guidelines
• Looking at who is involved in the return-to-work process
• Defining the benefits of return to work for employers and managers
• Creating the financial incentive for an employee to return to work in a modified-duty capacity
• How to address injured employees' anxieties and fears-making employees partners in your RTW efforts
• Best practices in making your return-to-work program effective for your organization

Pat Crawford, Return to Work Education Coordinator
DIVISION OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION - TDI

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• Does the PBO process meet the legislative intent?
• How can we measure quality of care reliably?
• What criteria will be used for the 2009 report cards?

Moderator

Stuart D. Colburn, Esq., Shareholder
DOWNS STANFORD, P.C.

Panel

Lee Ann Alexander, Assistant Vice President & Legislative Counsel
LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY

Michael Reed, MPA, MBA, Director
TEXAS MEDICAL ASSOCIATION

Joe M. Woods, Assistant Vice President and Regional Manager
PROPERTY CASUALTY INSURERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA

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• Disciplinary policies and procedures that can protect your organization from claims of discrimination, retaliation, or wrongful discharge
• Understanding the burden of proof and the requirements to prove a legitimate reason for termination
• What to do when an injury stems from employee negligence, unsafe behavior, or drug use
• Can you discipline employees for filing fraudulent or bad-faith claims?

Thad Harkins, Esq., Partner
HARKINS, LATIMER & DAHL, PC

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• Clarifying the most common causes of sprain and strain injuries
• Successful care for early treatment of minor sprains and strains
• Ergonomics: Does it really help?
• Working with your medical provider to prevent a worsening injury

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Michael J. Donovan, Esq., Partner
BURNS ANDERSON JURY & BRENNER, L.L.P.

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• Defining "disability" under the workers' comp statutes and the ADA
• When a workers' comp injury is also a serious health condition under the FMLA
• Looking at the impact of FMLA leave on return-to-work or light-duty programs
• Reasonable accommodations under workers' comp, the FMLA, and the ADA
• Running leave concurrently to minimize lost time
• Avoiding retaliation claims when handling disputed claims

Jay Wallace, Esq., Partner
GIBSON, MCCLURE, WALLACE & DANIELS, L.L.P.

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• Wellness helps! The return on investment you can achieve with a workplace wellness program
• Resources for employers: Promoting prevention and a healthy lifestyle without blowing your budget
• Getting buy-in from management and staff: Educating staff on the benefits of wellness programs to improve morale and work performance and reduce workers' comp costs
• What works: What one Texas employer has discovered in implementing its wellness program

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• Achieving an employee-driven safety culture: Motivational techniques that work to get employees on board from the start
• Investing your resources on initiatives that will have an impact: Maximizing your return on investment
• Strategies to build management and employee buy-in
• Taking a look at OSHA and safety programs

Paul Licht
CARRIER CORPORATION

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• Taking a look at the psychosocial factors in workers' comp injuries and how they can delay recovery
• Early identification and intervention with high-risk cases: What to do before there are serious psychological issues
• Cognitive-behavior interventions for physical injuries vs. psychotherapy for psychological disorders: Knowing the difference is important for your injured employees and your bottom line
• Somatization disorders vs. malingering: What is the difference and what can be done?
• Treating depression and anxiety to encourage return to work
• Setting reasonable expectations of the healing process
• Reinforcing wellness behaviors: Successful interventions to improve treatment outcomes

Dr. Kyle Babick, Ph.D., Psychologist
KYLE BABICK PH.D. AND ASSOCIATES, PC

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• What is integrated disability management?
• Taking a look at the benefits of an IDM program
• The elements of a successful IDM program
• Handling the drawbacks: Interdepartmental communication challenges and legal oversight

Mary Zersen, MS, CRC, CDMS
Partner, ZERSEN & DUNAWAY CONSULTANTS, LLC
Past President, TEXAS REHABILITATION ASSOCIATION

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• Selecting the right medical providers to maximize quality health care for injured workers
• Ensuring you are getting the information and responses you need from your medical providers
• Determining what an employee's diagnosis means to your organization
• Designing optimum return-to-work programs for injured employees by working with doctors to facilitate getting employees back on the job

Tammy Escobedo, Director of Sales
REVIEW MED

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