Congratulations to our new WWCP designees
Our Industrial Insurance University is pleased to announce that after the initial round of testing following this year's WWCP sessions, eleven new Washington Workers' Compensation Professionals have joined the ranks. Congratulations to Holly Brown, Tonja Campbell, Sarah Gregory, Michael Ma, Michelle Morrow, Stavros Pirotis, Marciela Regalado, Audrey Sande, Lisa Scalf, Brandy Tuggle, and Nicol Wilson for earning the WWCP designation. They join over a hundred colleagues who have taken part in this comprehensive, goal-oriented curriculum, helping bring knowledge and professionalism to the workers' compensation industry in our state. WWCP courses will take up again next spring; keep an eye out for dates and locations.
WSIA Safety Group meets next Thursday
WSIA's Safety Committee, chaired by John Shervey, holds its regular monthly meeting next Thursday, August 10th at 2:00-3:00 p.m. online over the GoToMeeting platform. On the agenda is reviewing/comparing the top 10 DOSH and OSHA violations and talking about how to avoid these common injuries. The group will also touch on issues for the fall conference sessions on VPP as well as discuss steps to set up your own internal VPP program. This dynamic group is always looking for additional participants from the safety side of WSIA member companies to join in the learning and conversation. Please forward to your colleagues in safety if they may be interested in checking it out! Click here to get the link to join the meeting and drop John a line with any topic suggestions.
Department announces acupuncture pilot
Earlier this week, the Department of Labor & Industries announced it is starting a pilot project to allow acupuncture treatment for injured workers with low back pain related to an accepted workers' comp condition, up to ten visits over the lifetime of the claim. Data derived from the one to two year pilot program will be used in assessing whether to allow acupuncture treatment permanently. For more information on the pilot, click here.
Department announces updated PPD schedule
The updated PPD schedule, taking into account the recent increase in indemnity benefits due to wage inflation, has been released this week. Make sure you didn't miss it.
Latest technical requirements for medical bill reporting are out
The Department has also released the latest information related to technical requirements and testing related to the submission of medical bill data to the new Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). Click here to read the latest bulletin, including a clarification that bills returned to a provider for an administrative reason (e.g., improper billing), do not need to be entered into the EDI.
OSHA's online injury tracking app now available
The federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration has released notice of the availability starting this week of a web app - "ITA" - for reporting required 2016 injury tracking information. Click here to check it out. In June, the agency also published a notice of proposed rulemaking to extend the deadline for submitting 2016 Form 300A to Dec. 1, 2017. The extension aims to provide sufficient time for employers to familiarize themselves with the electronic reporting system and to provide the administration an opportunity to review the requirements prior to their implementation.
Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals to hold CLE
The Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals has announced it is hosting a full day CLE seminar to be held on September 8th in Tacoma, covering a wide range of topics. Take a look here.
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