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Continuing education

Our experts provide the information you want and help you earn the ​continuing education credits you need.

Join us for relevant sessions covering the latest clinical, pharmacy, and ancillary information that will help you make better decisions at every stage.

The New Era of Weight Loss Medications is Here

Wednesday, November 6, 2024
2 p.m. ET

Obesity is a widespread condition in the population, and obese individuals are at increased medical risk. And with the high prevalence of obesity, GLP-1 agonists — relatively new medications that help lower blood sugar levels and promote weight loss — are under the spotlight. 

A survey of 500 employers in October 2023 showed that 81% reported that their employees would be interested in GLP-1 medications.* GLP-1 agonist medications are expensive. And as obesity is not usually related to a workers’ compensation injury, many employers do not consider them compensable under a workers’ compensation claim. But should they? 

For injured individuals, obesity can lengthen or jeopardize recovery. Could an individual’s weight loss help other aspects of the claim that are compensable? For example, could it allow an injured worker to have surgery that was not possible at their previous weight? Could it support their physical therapy so they could return to work quicker? 

Unlike group health, which usually focuses on medication efficacy in the long term, workers’ comp pharmacy care traditionally focuses on the patient’s health through a shorter recovery timeframe.  If the overall goals are to shorten the term of the claim and return an individual to work sooner, in some cases, weight loss medications could significantly benefit both, and more than offset additional pharmacy spend. 

This session will highlight the positive impact these medications could have on patient health and injury recovery, but at same time, how these high-cost medications can impact claims management. Attendees will take away key factors to consider when choosing whether to approve weight loss medications for injured workers.

Don't miss this important topic. 

CE credits are only available for those who qualify during the LIVE version of these webinars.

 

CE credits for our courses are administered by the CEU Institute. If you have any issues or questions regarding your credits, please contact ​rosters@ceuinstitute.net. For questions about the ​continuing ​education course offerings, email us at ceprogram@optum.com.
Courses are subject to change at any time. This course has been submitted for 1-hour of CE for the following license types:  Pre-approved Adjuster (AK, AL, CA, DE, FL, GA, ID, IN, LA, KY, MS, MT, NC, NH, NM, NV, OK, OR, TX, UT, VT, WA, WY); National Certified Case Manager (CCM); National Nurse; Certified Disability Management Specialists (CDMS), Certified Medicare Secondary Payer (CMSP) and Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) for CE accreditation. For states that do not require prior approval, the adjuster is responsible for submitting their attendance certificate to the appropriate state agency to determine if continuing education credits can be applied.

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*Not for CE credit. Continuing education credits are only available if you attend & qualify during the LIVE webinar.

For more information email
CEProgram@optum.com