October 2020

This presentation will introduce the manner in which the Virtual Educational Conference will be conducted as well as cover the accomplishments made by the Bureau over the past twelve months in implementing legislation and programmatic rules.

What can employers, carriers, government regulators, and other industry leaders do now to improve worker outcomes and mitigate the impact of outside threats? Chris Mandel, Senior Vice President for Strategic Solutions, Sedgwick and Director for Sedgwick Institute will lead this presentation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has catapulted telemedicine adoption into the status quo. In the world of workers’ compensation, telemedicine has been a viable option for patient care for several years. However, adoption has been slow for a variety of reasons. This presentation will include definitions, trends, value and current use and applicability in Tennessee Workers’ Compensation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted everyone’s life. This session provides the perspective of the medical provider and employer with up-to-date information about the nature of treatment, medical care and the status and protections for health care workers.

The recipient of the Award, an individual or stakeholder who has introduced new strategies to claims management that have resulted in positive measurable outcomes, gone above and beyond the standards expected in administering the workers’ compensation program, instilled a workers’ compensation culture based on trust, cooperation and mutual interests, understood the concerns of injured workers and their families, and set an example to others in the field will be recognized during this session.

The Underwood saga continues in this session as our characters encounter the ethical issues that might arise during mediation.

This session will explore ethical considerations related to political activity by lawyers and judges.

A panel of employers and members of the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation staff will discuss a new initiative that provides a different approach to minimizing the negative impact of workers’ compensation injuries.