We’ve had some great feedback from folks who participated in the Making Workers’ Comp Work Conference March 11-12 in San Francisco, and I thought I’d share some of it here.

“Thank you and Phil for making the seminar one of the best I’ve ever attended! So much useful information and the plethora of amazing speakers made for a fantastic two days! Please tell Phil that he has the full support of this firm for years to come!”

—Joseph Yrulegui, Yrulegui & Roberts Law Firm

“WELL DONE Phil! The caliber of the speakers were amazing–it speaks to the respect you have earned in the community–You are a Chief within the tribe.”

—Don Freeman, Attorney/Speaker

“Thank you so much for all your hard work, energy, heart and soul that you put into the conference. I know that it unequivocally made a difference for me, and I have already been implementing what I learned.”

—Annette Lindley, Risk Manager

“I would be remiss if I did not let you know how impressed Tamarra, Steven and I were with the quality of your team, speakers and your commitment to this convention. Truly a blue ribbon panel and a stellar event.”

— Zachary H. Sacks 
Managing Partner 
Sacks & Zolonz, LLP

In addition to these great testimonials, we’ve had the following responses mentioned time after time!

“These were the best speakers I have ever heard. These were the smartest speakers I’ve every heard present. Such passion. Each speaker “fired up” those who followed.”

“The biggest problem at this Conference was choosing which sessions to attend. There were so many great ones, I had a difficult time deciding.”

“You have given me the tools to redo my entire workers’ compensation program, and I’m starting on that on Monday.”

Thank you everyone for the wonderful feedback and suggestions for next year’s Making Workers’ Comp Work conference. We’re reading them all and putting your ideas in place for 2011, so keep ‘em coming!

Greetings everyone! First off, we would like to express our appreciation for all who participated in the first annual Making Workers’ Comp Work Conference this past week at the Marriott Marquis Hotel and Conference Center in San Francisco. It was a great success, bringing together over 200 professionals in the workers’ comp industry: from claims examiners, raters, and insurance executives, to attorneys, medical doctors, and workers’ comp program directors. It was truly a diverse crowd of individuals, all coming together for one purpose: building the California Workers’ Compensation program for the future. With 60 speakers delivering the latest in workers’ comp-related programs and initiatives, our audience was in for a truly educational and enlightening experience.

In addition to our speakers, there were 26 exhibitors who joined us in the main conference room, and what a presence they were! All of them had great looking booths, staffed by friendly people who were helpful and knowledgeable when discussing their products and services.

Even the weather was beautiful! Two days of gorgeous sunshine, followed by early spring showers to close out the conference.

Thank you everyone- attendees, speakers, exhibitors, and staff, who by their presence and energy ensured that next year’s Making Workers’ Comp Work Conference is even better than the first!

A unifying theme across every presentation and session in our conference has been the need for collaboration and dialogue. Be sure to practice what we’ve preached by staying connected to Making Workers’ Comp Work and the Phil Neal Walker Law.

• Get caught up with every recap. Click here to display the full archives of every session writeup that’s been posted in the blog.
• Check out conference audio and presentation materials. The official Making Workers’ Comp Work 2010 store carries presentation handouts and audio recordings of each session.
• See conference photos. Follow the Phil Neal Walker Law Flickr photostream.
• See conference video. Videos are coming soon to Phil’s YouTube channel.
• Start a conversation. Comment on the blog, or drop us a line on Twitter: @PhilWalkerLaw.
• Follow us on Facebook. Join the Making Workers’ Comp Work Facebook page.
• Connect on LinkedIn. Add the Making Workers’ Comp Work group to your LinkedIn profile.
• Drop us a line. Send an e-mail message to Carolyn: carolyn@askphilwalker.com.

3:45 PM: Phil closed the conference with the line, “You will always find your bliss in service to others.” He thanked attendees for taking the first steps in making the changes needed for a reform or workers’ compensation, and noted that he will be bringing this seminar to Southern California in October, and continuing some of seminars over the next few months in the Bay Area.

Check out recordings and materials for this entire conference here.

In Dealing with Medicare: What Works, Ben Pugh highlighted the difficulties in working with Medicare when processing claims, and strategies for navigating this complex network to satisfy your goal of a quick, thorough MSA processing. Since the ’80s, when Medicare became a secondary payer, it has become more difficult to hold Medicare accountable for payments. Covering reporting methods and ways to avoid potential problems and reactions from Medicare, Pugh illustrated the importance of remaining educated on Medicare policies, warned of possible retaliations against your MSA processing, and demonstrated how to cut through the intricate web of Medicare’s interests to settle an MSA in a fair manner.

An audio recording and presentation materials are available here.

In her session What Works for Stanislaus County, Staninslaus County Disability Manager Peggy Huntsinger shared key programs her county has undertaken to reduce the frequency and severity of on-the-job injuries and illnesses. These programs include reorganizing the CEO-Risk Management Division, training on the County Safety Manual, conducting pre-placement drug screenings, and implementing the Injury Management Program and job task analysis.

When a foundation recognizes that programs need continual refinement, noted Huntsinger, they can always make progress towards improvement by taking the lead to overcome obstacles. She emphasized the need to implement a return-to-work program if one already is not in place. Furthermore, even organizations with an existing plan ought to reevaluate it from time to time to determine its effectiveness.

An audio recording and handouts from Huntsinger’s session are available here.

In The Broker: We Are NOT The Enemy, insurance veteran Teresa Pacelli focused on communication, execution, and education as the three factors necessary to revising the workers’ compensation system. After a frustrating period of time as a claims examiner, Pacelli realized she could more effectively generate change as an insurance broker.

Pacelli recommended that claims examiners utilize their brokers, keeping a close relationship to remain aware of regulations, brainstorm ideas, and work through problems together. By taking the time to keep employers aware of innovative solutions, foster relationships, and follow through on issues, the workers’ compensation community affect more extensive and more effective change.

Audio and materials from Pacelli’s presentation are available here.

In his presentation Returning Humanity to the California Workers’ Compensation System, clinical and medical psychologist Frank Lucchetti emphasized the importance of rehabilitating the injured worker to a life of productivity.

The relationships among all parties involved in the workers’ compensation settlement should be a primary concern, along with taking precautions to prohibit further impairment during treatment. The mental and emotional hardships that can occur after becoming injured while on the job are significant, yet these aren’t always sufficiently recognized. Lucchetti suggests that all injured workers who suffer a permanent disability receive psychological intervention, as a crucial aspect formulating life goals to functionally adjust.

An audio recording and handouts from this session are available for purchase here.

In her session An Auditor Teaches You Great Claims Handling, Cheryl Morosini detailed the importance of organizing one’s workplace to fit a style to maximize one’s achievements. By encouraging claims professionals to approach their work product using the same techniques as an auditor would, one can tweak those methods to allow for the highest production and quality of work each day. Morosini is confident that strategic navigation of workers’ compensation’s complex systems can bring understanding of the most efficient way to manage one’s workplace.

An audio recording and handouts from this session are available here.

Las Vegas Recovery Center Medical Director Mel Pohl focused on the importance of treatment alternatives to opioids for chronic pain in his session, Syndrome Pain and Addiction: Challenges and Controversies. Reviewing the interactions of pain, suffering and addiction as they interface in clients, Pohl underlined how opioids complicate the course of many workers’ compensation cases and are a poor choice as a mainstay for treating chronic pain.

Pohl recommended doctors consider having patients discontinue their use of opioid medications if pain is persistent and function is not improved, and identified key factors that may result in a return to work, in order to optimize positive outcomes with patients who are doing poorly on opioid treatment regimens.

An audio recording and handouts from this session are available for purchase here.