Rethinking workers’ compensation

Ben Zellner

Guest Columnist

June 15, 2026

For years, employers have been facing immense pressure from rising healthcare costs.

Musculoskeletal care – including workers’ compensation injuries – is consistently ranked among the top three drivers of healthcare costs year after year.

An effective approach to helping control workers’ compensation costs is ensuring injured employees receive timely, appropriate care through providers experienced in treating workplace injuries.  

Surprisingly enough, the most expensive workers’ compensation claims often result from inefficiencies rather than the severity of the injury, including delayed access to appropriate care, unnecessary imaging or procedures, poor care coordination and extended disability durations.  

Too often, after employees face an injury, they are not streamlined to the appropriate care from the beginning.

Delays in specialist care can lead to slower recovery and extend time away from work.

In many cases, the treatment process starts with primary care, which not only can delay the process in which the employee is seen by a physician, but it can also lead to a significant delay in their diagnosis and treatment.

Research in the journal “Cost of low-value imaging worldwide: A systematic review,” shows that 20-50% of diagnostic imaging – including unnecessary tests and ordering MRI and X-rays prior to seeing an orthopedic surgeon – is low-value and provides little to no clinical benefit, and significantly increases healthcare costs.

However, there are proactive choices employers can make to reduce costs and improve employee outcomes.

Employers can shift to a model that prioritizes the right care, not more care.

Rather than relying solely on emergency rooms or larger healthcare systems, employers can direct workplace injury cases to orthopedic specialists with experience in occupational medicine.

Specialty practices often have established injury assessment and treatment processes designed to connect injured workers with appropriate care as quickly as possible.

The importance of early access

A proactive, cost-effective model for workers’ compensation starts with early access to the right care.

Early access can start with on-site independent physical therapy (PT) providers or with an orthopedic physician at an independent practice.

Independent practices can provide same-day or next-day care, leading to early diagnosis and treatment.

Specialists may also be able to determine and diagnose the injury while avoiding unnecessary imaging and procedures. 

Diagnosis through return-to-work plans

Once the injury is diagnosed and the course of treatment is determined, it is essential the employee and employer are provided with a clear work restriction plan.

Work restrictions should always include early and transitional return-to-work programs (light duty) if applicable to the employee and their unique injury.

Additionally, throughout the entire treatment process, it is important there is ongoing communication between the care team and employers.

The care team’s role includes providing guided decision-making, while also setting realistic timeline expectations for recovery and returning to work.

Employers should be provided with one point of contact, a workers’ compensation specialist, who will work with them throughout the entirety of their case by providing timely updates, answering questions and filing paperwork.

For any workers’ compensation case, the focus should be on functional recovery and returning to work.

Independent practices that follow the proactive care model not only provide coordinated, multidisciplinary care, but they also prioritize evidence-based treatment.

These independent practices emphasize conservative care like physical therapy, guided rehabilitation, bracing, injections and more, typically before surgery is discussed.   

How having the right partner matters

By collaborating with independent practices that provide partner programs, employers can make informed decisions to help their employees access care with higher patient satisfaction and better quality and safety ratings, usually all at a lower cost.

Devising a plan and educating employees on how to make better healthcare decisions by choosing independent practices helps the employee and the organization.

Even though these partnerships are created between companies and independent practices, they do not require employees to receive care from that specific practice.

Employees can still have a choice of where they choose to receive their care.  

Employers that prioritize early, coordinated, evidence-based care are likely to see better outcomes for both their employees and their bottom line.

Measurable benefits for employers include reduced total cost per claim, fewer lost workdays and less litigation risk.

These benefits may also improve workforce productivity, employee satisfaction and predictable costs.

Designing a workers’ compensation approach around early access, specialty care and coordinated communication can not only reduce costs but also gain a measurable advantage in workforce productivity and operational efficiency.