Project Results

Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Program: Mandatory Treatment Parameters Evaluation
Lead Agency: Stratis Health
Grant Amount: $386,708
Time Frame: 01/01/97 to 12/31/98
Contact:

William H. Lohman, MD
Medical Consultant Minnesota Department of Labor & Industry
443 Lafayette Road North
St. Paul, MN 55155
Phone: 651-284-5275
Fax: 651-297-1549
Email: bill.lohman@state.mn.us

Please note that the above Contact Information was accurate as of May 2002

Public Policy Goal:

To determine how the Minnesota state-based WC treatment parameters for low back pain impact the cost, quality and outcome of health care.

Project Objective:

  1. To investigate the cost, quality and outcomes of the Minnesota Workers' Compensation Program's Mandatory Treatment Parameters for low back pain;
  2. To identify opportunities for improvement in the workers' compensations mandatory treatment parameters for low back pain;
  3. To develop a model health care quality improvement program for all mandatory workers' compensation treatment parameters in Minnesota.

Project Description:

Stratis Health and the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry formed a project team to evaluate the effectiveness of mandatory treatment parameters on controlling costs, increasing quality outcomes, worker and employer satisfaction and reducing disability status. The project included a patient outcomes and satisfaction survey, medical chart and billing abstraction, focus groups of employers, insurers and providers, and design of an ongoing monitoring program.

Key Findings or Accomplishments:

  • Patients whose care conformed to the treatment parameters had less time away from work, and had similar outcomes regarding pain relief, physical functioning, and satisfaction with care as patients whose care was not in conformance with the guidelines.
  • The project demonstrated that a process combining administrative, medical utilization, and patient reported data could be successfully implemented to evaluate the overall effects of a complex "episode of care" treatment guideline that integrates recommendations on diagnosis, treatment, and follow up of cases over time
  • A significant accomplishment of the project was the development of a weighted scoring process to measure overall adherence to the guidelines.
  • 70.8% of the workers studied were provided treatment that complied with the guidelines.

Tools Developed:

  • Minnesota Workers Comp Mandatory Treatment Parameters Evaluation (future link)

Reports and Publications:

PDF Icon Radosevich, David M., Werni, Tina LK, Gilberton, David T., Lohman, William H. " Assessment of Minnesota's Workers' Compensation Mandatory Treatment Parameters for Low Back Claimants. " Stratis Health, Inc.

PDF Icon Final Grant Report