On the Fly

• The third quarter FY2016 MnSAFE results are now available
• It is summer in Minnesota. That means "soft water" versus "hard water" (that's ice for you non-fishers). Check-out Natural Resource Boat & Water Safety website.
• Did you take the Safe at Work pledge during National Safety Month?
• Proposed FAA rules create new opportunities for government use of small drones.
• Many state agencies were Governor's Safety Award Winners this year. Check out the award winner lists at:
  Award of Honor
  Outstanding Achievement
  Meritorious Achievement

• Save-the-Date! The 10th Annual Safety and Loss Control Conference will be September 27-28, 2016!

• August is Back-to-School Safety Month.
• September is National Preparedness Month.
• Fall Prevention Awareness Week is September 22-28
• Drive Safety Work Week is October 3-7
• Fire Prevention Week is October 9-15

An Opiod-use Model Contract Between Providers and Patients

By: Gary Westman, Program Manager
Workers' Compensation

Proper management of opioid drug use is one of the leading challenges for health care professionals across the United States. There are widespread news stories about the significant increase in the number of people struggling with addiction to prescription painkillers and the related problems this brings for both the people using the medications and for the communities in which they live. Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised doctors nationwide to avoid prescribing opiate painkillers for chronic pain, warning that the risks outweighed the benefits for most people.

So what is happening in the Minnesota workers’ compensation system to manage this issue? Fortunately our workers’ compensation system appears to be on the leading edge in addressing this issue. Last year, the Minnesota Department of Labor & Industry adopted rules that govern long-term treatment with opioid analgesic medications. This article will briefly describe the basics of the rules.

For patients in Minnesota who are treating for a workers’ compensation injury or illness, the following rules must be followed. If any health care provider plans to treat patients for intractable pain by prescribing opioid analgesic medications for at least 90 days, or if a health care provider continues to prescribe opioid analgesic medications for a patient who has been prescribed these medications already for 90 days, the patient and provider must enter into a Patient/Provider contract for the long-term use of the medications.

The contract places requirements on both the provider and the patient in an effort to help ensure that medications are being properly used, places restrictions on the patient on who can prescribe the medications to them, allows for the provider to share information about the patient with the Minnesota Prescription Monitoring Program database, and requires periodic drug testing to ensure that the patient is using the opioid medications properly.

RMD’s workers’ compensation claims specialists, in coordination with the nurse case managers at CorVel, identify claims in which contracts should be used and notify the employee and the health care provider. Upon receiving notice, health care providers have either 30 days (claims with injury dates after 7-13-15) or 90 days (claims with injury dates prior to 7-13-15) to comply with the contract requirements. A sample contract is available.

Safety & Health Management Systems

By: Sandra Bauer, State Safety Coordinator
Risk Management Division

A Workplace Safety and Health Management system provides a systematic approach to identifying and controlling hazards. Establishing this system at your agency will involve every level of the organization. When everyone is involved, it creates a positive safety culture where everyone wins and less injuries occur.

Supervisors and employees that work in the hazards need to be involved in the Safety Management System or it won’t work. The following are ways to include both supervisors & employees in the process.

• Develop and Communicate a safety and health policy to all employees
• Demonstrate management commitment by instilling accountability for safety and health, obeying safety rules, and reviewing accident reports
• Conduct regular safety and health meetings involving employees, managers, and supervisors
• Assign responsible person(s) to coordinate safety and health activities
• Integrate safety and health into business practices (e.g., purchases, contracts, design and development)
• Involve employees in safety and health-related activities (e.g., self-inspections, accident investigations and developing safe practices).
• Recognize employees for safe and healthful work practices

Evaluating your worksite is one of the best ways to identify hazards and prevent injuries. Having the following processes in place ensures all hazards can be identified and corrected in a timely manner.

• Evaluate all workplace activities and processes for hazards.
• Reevaluate workplace activities when there are changes in processes, materials, or machinery.
• Conduct on-site inspections, identify hazards and take corrective actions.
• Provide a hazard reporting system for employees to report unsafe and unhealthy conditions.
• Investigate all accidents and near misses to determine their root causes.

Planning for work activities before they begin provides ample time to set up controls to prevent injuries. Establishing the following practices will ensure that work is performed in a safe manner the first time, every time.

• Eliminate and control workplace hazards (e.g., engineering controls, workstation design, and work practices). 
• Establish a preventive maintenance program.
• Keep employees informed of safety and health activities and conditions.
• Plan for emergencies (e.g., create an evacuation plan, train employees and conduct fire drills).
• Record and analyze occupational injuries and illness.

One must first know the rules and best practices before they can follow them! Establishing an effective training program for all employees is key to preventing injuries.

• Provide training on specific safe work practices before an employee begins work.
• Provide additional training for new work processes and when accidents and near misses occur.
• Provide refresher training on a routine basis.

OSHA's Fact Sheet for Safety & Health Management Systems

This OSHA Fact Sheet provides a great checklist and resources to help develop your Safety & Health Management System.

OSHA's Safety & Health Management System eTool

OSHA has provided this interactive eTool to offer additional information for helping to build and create an effective Safety & Health Management System.

Good Things are in Store for the FY2017 Insurance Renewal!

By: Marlys Williamson, RMD
Property & Casualty Underwriting and Marketing Manager 

The Good Things

• Property rates are decreasing by 10 percent for all deductible levels.
• All other rates remain unchanged.
• Each auto liability insured is assigned to one of four rating tiers depending on their loss experience. In most cases, agencies that moved to a different tier moved to one with a lower rate. (Impacted Agencies have been notified)
• Property values (buildings and contents) will be renewed the same as expiring because an inflationary factor is not being applied for FY2017. (Inflation indexes show that regional rates of inflation have slowed due to a decrease in fuel and raw material costs.) Agencies are still encouraged to review their insurance values to make certain that they reflect replacement cost.

By now, you should have received an email from Carol Morgan requesting renewal information for the FY2017 policy term. A copy of your prior year application and policy schedule were included in the email, in case you find them helpful for submitting FY2017 renewal data.

Your renewal information should be submitted back to Risk Management before the end of July.

If your agency is not currently insured for the two basics - property and liability, consider closing the gap by purchasing the coverage you do not currently have.

Below is a recap of coverages available in the Risk Management Fund (RMF). Many address exposures beyond basic property and liability.

• Property, including Boiler, Crime, and Cyber

• Coverage for physical loss or damage to real and personal property owned by you or that is in your care, custody, and control and that is your legal liability. Personal property can be on the premises, in the open, or in transit. The coverage territory for personal property is anywhere in the world.

  You set the limit of insurance based on the replacement values of the covered property.

  Just some of the perils covered are fire, lighting, water damage, flood damage, wind, hail, explosion, collapse, theft, and damage or breakdown to boilers & machinery.

  The property policy also includes $25,000 in crime coverage, which protects against employee dishonesty as well as theft, disappearance, and destruction of money and securities.

  A $25,000 cyber limit is included under the property policy to pay for your recovery costs and associated loss of income, in the event that cyber security losses involve electronic data and information assets, such as credit card numbers and customer lists. Additional crime and cyber limits are available through the conventional insurance market.

  Property insurance includes additional coverages to assist you in the event of a loss, such as Business Income and Extra Expense (lost net profits and necessary continuing expenses resulting from a temporary shutdown because of fire or other insured peril).

• Inland Marine

• Form of property insurance used by the RMF to cover certain items that the agency would like to insure at a deductible lower than their chosen property deductible. Examples of items oftentimes insured under inland marine are computers, fine art, and miscellaneous equipment.

• General Liability

• Protects against claims alleging bodily injury or property damage. The coverage includes defense costs and settlements associated with lawsuits brought by third parties who are injured or sustain property damage as a result of the insured’s operations or while on the insured’s premises.

  A $100,000 third-party cyber liability limit is included for failure of network security that results in denial of service, viruses, identity theft, to name a few.

  Insured parties for general liability are the Named Insured (state agency), employees, and volunteers.

  Since state agencies are subject to the tort cap, which is currently $500,000 per person and $1,500,000 per occurrence, the general liability policy limits match the tort cap.

• Public Officials' Liability

• Coverage for legal obligations to pay damages because of wrongful acts in the performance of prescribed duties. Public officials’ liability is available to general liability policyholders.

• Broadcaster's Professional Liability

• Coverage for legal obligations to pay damages for claims arising out of broadcasting, incidental publishing and advertising, personal injury, and errors and omissions in broadcasting, telecasting or cablecasting over scheduled stations or cable television systems. Broadcaster’s liability is available to general liability policyholders.

• Police Professional Liability

• Coverage for legal obligations to pay damages because of wrongful acts, bodily injury, property damage or personal injury resulting from the performance of law enforcement activities. Police professional liability is available to general liability policyholders.

• Garagekeepers Legal Liability

• Covers damage to the vehicles of others while they are in the care, custody, and control of the insured (for service, repair, storage or safekeeping). Garagekeepers’ legal liability has a $500 per auto/$5,000 maximum per loss deductible.

• Homeowners' Warranty (aka Vendors' Warranty)

• Some Minnesota State Colleges and Universities have construction programs in which students build homes that are sold when completed. The RMF offers a ten-year homeowners’ warranty policy that schools may choose to purchase when the home is sold.

• Auto Liability

• Coverage for injuries to others and/or damage to their property (bodily injury and property damage liability) arising out of policyholders’ ownership or use of motor vehicles.

  Since state agencies are subject to the tort cap, which is currently $500,000 per person and $1,500,000 per occurrence, the auto liability policy limits match the tort cap.

  Auto Physical Damage

  Coverage for damage from collision with another vehicle or object, as well as from overturning. Additionally, protection is afforded against damage from perils other than collision, such as hail, fire, vandalism, and flood.

If you have questions about your renewal or would like a quote for a new coverage, contact Carol Morgan at 651-201-2593 or Carol.Morgan@state.mn.us or Marlys Williamson at 651-201-2591 or Marlys.Williamson@state.mn.us .

Learn your role in eliminating workplace injuries at mn.gov/admin/mnsafe