Case Studies and References
Case Studies
Cooper and Pfefer
Dr.s' SR Cooper and MT Pfefer implemented an in-house chiropractic industrial program at a large meat processing plant in Manitoba, Canada, where this industry has one of the highest rates of occupational musculoskeletal injuries -- primarily repetitive strain and back injuries. The program was implemented in April of 2005 and focused on work and on related musculoskeletal care.
- The total days lost went from 235 per month to 134 days per month from April of 2003 to December of 2006.
- The cost per claim went from $1174 in 2003 to $677 in from 2003 to 2006.
- Dr. Cooper also reported a significant decrease in the number of surgeries since the program was implemented and the meat packing plant had saved over $900,000 in the first 21 months of the chiropractic program.
James Patterson, DACBOH
James Patterson, DACBOH of Redwing, Minnesota who has been working with industry for 10 years reports substantial savings with pro-active preventative on site health care, which includes ergonomic assessment, physical rehabilitation and chiropractic manipulation and acupuncture. He was worked at four different facilities in the Minnesota area (providing 20 on-site hours a week) and has only sent less than half a dozen people for low back back surgery in the past 10 years.
Boeing - Everett and Renton, Washington
Boeing has had on site occupational health since the 40's. While written documentation has been sparse with regard to cost savings, a representative of the largest on site clinic, said the cost of running the clinic is compensated for alone by the cost of savings of getting the injured worker to and from an appointment, diminishing their travel time substantially. In the Boeing system, there are 19 clinics region company wide. The Everett Clinic, the largest on site clinic, serves 25,000 employees and cares for 90 patients a day, and additionally schedules 7 to 8 full physicals per day. Read more
The facility is staffed with two doctors, three PA's, six to seven RN's, a lab tech, three administrative faculty and a handful of contract physicians.
The representative was clear that one of the greatest cost benefits is the fact return to work strategies are so much more effective and efficient contrasted to when care is sent into the community, to be managed by providers that are not familiar with the unique job functions of the workers. Read more
Adding the salary and the value of benefit package category of a certain category of mechanics, equates to a compensation of $50 per hour, which adds up when you don't have to compensate them for a half day to secure their treatment versus 45 minutes.
A unique component of their program is the institution of the Industrial Athlete program, within their Everett and Renton clinics. This program focuses on early interventions, and includes licensed massage therapists to do specific spot related massage, rehab with trainers to gain strength to their job duty and ergonomic evaluation to ensure the work site is as efficient as possible. The cost savings of this program looks very promising.
