A Work Comp Strategy for the Small Employer

 James Milani, DO

pic of work injury claim form If yours is a smaller company, your worker compensation issues are usually rare and never routine or convenient. So when they do arise, you may not know who to turn to for answers or what your options are.

Make sure you’ve identified a provider who is well equipped to handle worker illness or injury. And then call your occupational healthcare provider—the sooner, the better. An injured employee can get “lost” in many ways—lost to follow up, restrictions, time away from work, referrals, need for testing, etc. A simple injury can easily turn complicated for you.

You will make the call to an occupational healthcare clinic (Iowa is an "Employer Choice" state, meaning the company directs the care that an employee receives for work injuries), ensuring that your employee is referred to a provider who can not only give good medical advice and treatment but also knows the work comp system. Because it’s just that—a system—with its own set of rules, expectations, and “players.” Obtaining excellent medical care for an employee and work within the system benefits everyone.

pic of doctor and workers and office  personnelWorking with staff who deal with this system every day can help you sort out and address issues such as causation, recordable injury, lost-time injury, restrictions, and follow up. And they’re skilled in the communication that’s vital to successfully navigating the system.

They can also help you address underlying issues with the employee or job and “big picture” issues such as ergonomics, safety, drug testing, or wellness.

Developing a relationship with your occupational healthcare provider not only prepares you for the unexpected but can help improve the overall health of your company.

Dr. James Milani, a board-certified family medicine physician, is Medical Director of the Great River Business Health Clinic, a health service of the Great River Health Systems in West Burlington, IA

January 2013


UI HealthWorks is a member of the WORKSAFE IOWA Occupational Medicine Associate Network, the only university-affiliated network of occupational health providers.

WORKSAFE IOWA is an outreach program of the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health in the College of Public Health at The University of Iowa.


About UI HealthWorks About WORKSAFE IOWA