Using data from 18 study states, the institute examined outcomes of manual therapy, which it describes as a type of physical therapy that is “hands-on… to mobilize or manipulate joints and soft tissues with the intent to increase joint range of motion, reduce pain, and eliminate soft tissue swelling and inflammation.�

The average medical cost per claim was $4,192 for lower back pain claims with early manual therapy, 27 percent lower than that for similar claims with late manual therapy, according to the study.

Researchers also found that workers receiving manual therapy within two weeks of traditional physical therapy needed fewer MRIs (30.3 percent vs. 43.4 percent), received fewer opioid prescriptions (18.6 percent vs. 23.3 percent), and had fewer pain-management injections (12.6 percent vs.16.5 percent).

The average indemnity payment per claim was 28 percent lower when manual therapy was initiated early and the average temporary disability duration per claim was 22 percent shorter for workers with such early treatment.

Source: Business Insurance

The Florida District Court of Appeals affirmed a ruling in which a judge of compensation claims said requiring an insurer to pay for or facilitate an injured worker’s use of marijuana would expose the insurer to criminal liability.

The worker injured his lower back in a work-related accident in 2001 and received pain management for chronic pain syndrome. In 2017, he asked to be referred to a physician who could prescribe him medical marijuana as an oral pain medication alternative. The insurer denied the request.

The judge concluded, and an appellate court upheld, that Florida statutes say marijuana is not reimbursable and prohibit reimbursement for evaluations to obtain a marijuana prescription.

Source: Business Insurance