Barry Thompson

For AI to be powerful, we must first abandon the knee-jerk focus on making the existing process more efficient while protecting profit streams.

Although the Jay-Z song isn't about workers' comp, the industry needs to see where its problems are -- and aren't.

Predictive modeling is but an early step; we must see beyond the fleeting ability to increase underwriting profit or fast-track a claim process.

The job of workers' comp manager often falls short of the respect and impact it deserves. Let's redefine the role as a "warrior."

My daughter, then age six, was "helping" me with some client reports and cut to the essence of what workers' comp should be about.

Preventing "fact-cidents" in workers' comp -- "accidents" devoid of factual backing -- is time-consuming but not that complicated.

Electronic health records force practitioners to focus on checking the boxes and distract them from their mission: providing great care.

To provide peace of mind to an injured worker -- and reduce the number of big claims -- employers should address 10 questions right away.

Two workers' comp claims show how little control we have over an employee’s attitude -- and how important it is in determining the outcome.

Managed care started out as a straightforward concept but has mutated into shadowy deals that cost employers. It's time to get angry.

Many problems begin in the "bizarro-world" of workers' comp medical care, but they can be resolved through a radical approach to Medicare.

Predictive analytics encourage employers to fast-track many workers' comp claims, but they should presume problems are lurking.

Electrodiagnostics objectively determines an employee's capability before and after an injury claim, simplifying workers' comp cases.

Fee-squeezing has killed quality. Have your workers' comp cases ever been determined by the results of functional exams?

Surprise! Some restrictive wellness programs will pass that test, but you have to have the right type of workforce and still be careful.

Current wellness plans are absurd, but lessons from disease management (and human nature) point to a narrower approach -- and success.