ECN can help reduce costs relating to employee medical issues; costs which are responsible for more than 50% of a company's healthcare expenses. It is not unusual for such costs to account for 8% to 10% of total payroll costs. Besides the "hard dollar" costs of unscheduled employee absences, "soft costs" such as lost productivity and management time and the subsequent effects on other employees put additional pressure on HR departments and the companies for which they work.
ECN assists employers and business owners to take steps to reduce the costs associated with employee medical absenteeism by
- (a) implementing a clear and consistent policy for dealing with these issues, and
- (b) creating an effective and efficient communication system between employees and management.
Independent medical consultants, such as ECN, are critical in ensuring that an employer's medical leave program and policy is applied fairly and consistently to all employees. ECN will advise an employer's human resource professionals about the medical aspects of a requested leave of absence (LOA). In particular, ECN can work with strategically oriented HR professionals in dealing with employee and workforce issues in ways that will allow them to positively affect their companies' bottom lines. Spending countless hours trying to reach a healthcare provider or reviewing paperwork and often illegible medical certifications does allow HR professionals to fully utilize the strategic skills that they possess.
ECN’s Quality Services include:
- ECN's staff of physicians and nurses will communicate with the employee's healthcare provider to discuss the employee's medical condition.
- ECN will advise the HR professional on the medical condition in question and provide guidance as to appropriate leave parameters, restrictions and accommodations that are usual and customary for these types of conditions.
- ECN will use its nationwide panel of medical experts in all areas of medical specialties to provide further insight if a specialist is required.
- ECN schedules 2nd opinion and independent medical examinations where appropriate and allowed by law.
- ECN provides training to HR professionals, executives and line supervisors on the legal and medical aspects of employee medical claims handling.
FMLA Administration
ECN can provide full FMLA administration services. In this role, ECN will act as an extension of your human resource department. ECN will take care of all aspects of the medical information verification process including contacting and havingdiscussions with the employee's healthcare providers as well as obtaining medical records and documentation as necessary (to the extent allowed by law) in order to gain a full understanding of the employee's medical condition.
Where a 2nd Opinion Examination may be required, ECN will take care of all notification letters to the physician and the employee (if requested by the employer), scheduling, rescheduling, and tracking of "no shows". For convenience, we offer on-site medical records copy and delivery services where needed. ECN is also able to pass along to its clients the discounts that it receives from physicians; therefore, the fees associated with a 2nd Opinion Examination that is scheduled by ECN are often lower than what an employer would pay if it had arranged for the examination directly.