4D     Workers’ Compensation: Challenges & Opportunities in Orthopedics (Intermediate)
John Cherf, MD – Neurologic and Orthopedic Institute of Chicago

The US Workers’ Compensation system (WC) is a micro econ-omy estimated at over one trillion dollars in both direct and indirect costs. The cost of WC care continues to increase at a rate higher than inflation, the Medicare Economic Index, and private health costs. The changing demographic of our workforce will put additional pres-sures on the WC system. Future successful providers will need to efficiently manage new technology, episodic treatments, site of care, and local policy/regulation. This will occur in a new health care landscape that demands transparency in cost, patient satisfaction and quality. One of the most important attributes of premier WC providers is to understand and manage the interests of all stake-holders with an emphasis on rapid, aggressive, scientifically proven treatment to ensure optimal short and long-term recovery. Following these principals can help compress the timeline of treatment and create significant savings. This is particularly important for orthope-dic providers since approximately two thirds of WC claims involve the musculoskeletal system.