As the CFO, you're responsible for managing all the financial activities within your company. You are tasked with saving or mitigating costs where ever and wherever you are able but there may be an area being ignored that could prove extremely valuable. 

Many consider workplace injuries and illnesses to be a cost of doing business. Since most injuries are preventable, are you missing an opportunity? 

If an employee is injured on the job, many times they are instructed to leave the facility to visit an emergency room for medical attention. For severe and obvious injuries—such as major cuts, bone breaks, slipped discs or acute muscle and joint strains—this makes perfect sense. However, because most workers have few medical care options, they may be required to walk out of work and go to the emergency room for aches, minor strains and pains that usually don't require ER visits. 

This usually happens on the day the worker is injured or the existing injury becomes worse, and the manager or employer instructs the employee to get medical attention that day. They may also need follow-up visits that usually take place during normal work hours. 

According to the Fair Labor Standards Act regulation 29 CFR 785.43, there are rules for employers that CFOs need to be aware of when they have employees in need of medical attention during working hours:

“Time spent by an employee in waiting for and receiving medical attention on the premises or at the direction of the employer during the employee’s normal working hours on days when he is working constitutes hours worked.”

What this means for you is that employees are to be paid for the time spent waiting for and receiving medical attention. This could be considered an added expense on the part of your company. And this is multiplied by every worker injured over the course of every year.

Another cost to consider? When the employee walks out for the ER visit, you must also deal with the lost productivity of the worker who is away. Time spent changing out of work gear, traveling to the ER, waiting at the ER, having tests conducted (X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, etc.), traveling back to the facility, and getting re-started on the job will detract from their output totals for that day. 

How Can You Reduce the Costs of Medical "Walkouts"? 

Having a system in place that not only prevents injuries but also can triage an injury onsite will save a business money in the short run as well as the long term. And with the right injury prevention platform in place, you will not need to pay to have a fulltime medical professional at every facility, for every shift. 

Healthy Roster provides a solution that covers every employee with remote incident triage that will prevent many of those lost work hours and unnecessary trips to the ER. We'll provide licensed medical providers who can screen workers and provide advice while the employee is still on your location. Employees can return to work if the injury does not require further treatment.

With a system like this in place, you'll:

• Reduce claims for minor injuries
• Prevent injuries from getting worse
• Cut the cost of missed/lost work time
• And improve MOD rates for Workers' Comp

On top of that, you'll create a culture of safety that boosts morale and improves productivity. CFOs will be able to expand benefits and cut expenses at the same time. 

Talk to Healthy Roster today to find out how we save CFOs money and maintain productivity!