• Emergency Rooms ⊲ The average cost of an emergency room visit for a simple laceration with or without suturing is now approximately $2,000.00-$6,000.00 or even more in some cases. The care may be the same or like that of an Urgent Care, but the cost is much higher for the visit and any procedures done. There may be more than one bill as well, similar to the urgent care but again higher because now there are emergency room provider bills, radiology bills and facility bills but, again, at a much higher rate. This doesn’t include the other expenses that are associated with emergency rooms, such as lost time from work due to long waits to be seen. • Out Patient Follow Up Care ⊲ If a wound becomes infected to a point where oral antibiotics are not enough to treat the infection, IV antibiotics may be ordered. This will require the injured worker to return to the emergency room or outpatient center, sometimes daily, for IV treatment. A semi-permanent catheter may need to be placed for the infusions to occur. IV antibiotics are not the cost of a pill or capsule; they can run upwards of $5,000.00 per treatment, and again, there will be charges from the facility and provider. Some wounds will not close on their own and will require treatment at a wound center. These could be daily to weekly visits where specialists clean, debride and redress the wound to enhance healing. These visits, depending on how much treatment is needed, may run from $750.00 to thousands of dollars. Some of the equipment needed to treat wounds has to be purchased, versus rented, and a wound vacuum, which is often ordered, could be as much as $7,500.00. • Surgery ⊲ Infected wounds sometimes don’t respond to treatment, or treatment was so delayed that surgery will be required. Wound infections can spread to the bone and subsequently infect the bone and bloodstream. These are very dangerous complications that can occur from a simple cut. It’s difficult to fully approximate the cost of this, but surgery would include charges from multiple providers and may include a hospital stay, medical equipment, follow-up care and lost time from work. We have seen bills for this type of scenario go upwards of approximately $20,000.00 to $60,000.00. Now, if we look at all that has been presented here, we can take the “this will never happen to us” approach and just see how that next simple cut plays out, but unfortunately, we can report it has happened to NHADA-WCT members. We have had medical complications from infections that need oral antibiotics to the need for IV therapy to the need for surgery and the threat of loss of limb. These injuries creep … they creep up the severity scale, and they creep up the cost of care. We would much rather pay for an urgent care visit that the injured worker or employer feels is unnecessary than set someone up for pain, lost time from work, loss of their ability to enjoy hobbies and family, and not to mention the cost to the trust and the employer directly. We prefer that with every injury at work, the employer and or injured worker give us a call. Even if it is determined treatment is not necessary, we can start the paper trail. Deciding not to file an employer’s first report of injury because it is felt to be “too minor” and then later becomes a serious medical issue puts us all behind the 8 ball. Give me a call at (603) 224-2369, and together, we can put together a plan for the care and treatment of the work injury. WE WANT TO FEATURE YOU IN OUR NEXT ISSUE OF DRIVE NEW HAMPSHIRE Please reach out to us using this link: https://hipaa.jotform.com/223126815152146. We can’t wait to hear from you! 22
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