Introduction

NCCI’s Under the Microscope: Medical Trends in Comp presentation introduces an analytic method to deconstruct changes in medical utilization over time into contributions from changes in injury mix and medical treatment for physician services. The Under the Microscope: Medical Trends in Comp Guide provides a slide-by-slide examination of the key insights, data sources, and background underlying the presentation.

As you review the information contained in this Guide, it may be useful to keep in mind the following main takeaways that NCCI’s Under the Microscope: Medical Trends in Comp presentation highlighted:

  • NCCI introduces an analytic method to deconstruct changes in medical utilization over time into contributions from changes in injury mix and medical treatment for physician services.
  • NCCI’s analysis shows that the mix of worker injuries has changed in the past 10 years. The shares of shoulder, leg, and foot claims have increased while the share of back and neck claims has decreased.
  • During the past decade, increased utilization of physician services per claim is largely driven by increased utilization of physical therapy, more than offsetting a reduction in surgery rates.
  • The overall utilization of physician services per claim increased 8% during the past decade, making up about half of the 17% increase in paid cost per claim for physician services in workers compensation.

We hope you find the Under the Microscope: Medical Trends in Comp Guide a beneficial and informative resource.