ClearComp's New Service Delivers Evidence-Based Savings for California Employers.

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. -- On the heels of California passing an emergency workers' compensation reform bill that requires the use of evidence-based, objective medical treatment and disability guidelines, ClearComp and e-Triage announce an innovative solution that reduces workers' compensation costs.

The new service, Claim Navigator, promises to reduce indemnity costs up to 50% and will be instrumental in detecting fraudulent workers' compensation claims made by individuals trying to milk the system. Claim Navigator is the result of a strategic alliance between ClearComp and e-Triage.

Claim Navigator is available to California employers paying workers compensation premiums in excess of $200,000. Claim Navigator will be provided free of charge to employers who elect ClearComp's sister agency, Pavlo, Weinberg & Associates, as their workers' compensation broker. ClearComp, a California workers' compensation solutions company, guarantees premium reductions of 10 to 30% percent when employers follow 7 Simple Success Principles. E-Triage, an international technology company located in northern Virginia, specializes in reducing disability costs through an online, evidence-based disability management system.

Under the direction of Alf L. Nachemson, MD, PhD, a pioneer in breaking return to work barriers resulting from psychosocial influences, e-Triage developed an online application that applies evidence-based research to identify any specific risk factors that would directly impact the recovery process. This enables employers to institute a best-practices approach for medical treatment that is customized to the injured worker.

"The end result," says Sharon O'Shea, president and CEO of e-Triage, "is that the system prevents uncomplicated cases from becoming lost-time cases. It also keeps normal lost-time cases from turning into long-term lost-time cases."

"We are excited about this partnership because the e-Triage system ensures the early identification of the roadblocks of recovery. It also identifies malingering and fraud," says Dale O'Brien, Chief Operating Officer for ClearComp.

"Claim Navigator is truly revolutionary. It employs an evidence-based interview process that begins within 48 hours of a reported injury. Since California has recently adopted both the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) and American Medical Association (AMA) medical guidelines, the e-Triage system is the perfect tool to ensure that the guidelines are met. By interviewing injured workers and their treating doctor early, using the e-Triage's evidence-based decision tree, we will be able to deliver even greater savings for our clients.

"Claim Navigator uses a screening process that integrates medical, general health, perception, and social and behavioral questions. Through this process, we are able to view the dynamics of each claim from a 360 degree perspective. Then we can determine whether we believe the claim to be fraudulent or legitimate and provide immediate intervention. In other words, we'll know right from the beginning which claims are the '20%' that account for 80% of all workers' compensation costs. This is something that no one in the workers' compensation industry has been able to do up until now."

Brent Heurter, ClearComp's founder and chief solutions officer, says, "Based on what we've seen so far, the workers' comp reform passed in April is not the magic bullet employers have been waiting for. Now, more than ever, employers must take control. This means being vigilant in how they manage lost-time injuries. Since indemnity payments account for nearly 50% of all workers' compensation costs, Claim Navigator is the secret to reducing the single, largest, controllable portion of workers' compensation costs."