Musculoskeletal pain prevention program associated with savings
Management of musculoskeletal pain in the workplace. Melhorn JM, Wilkinson L, Riggs JD. J Occup Environ Med. 2001. 43: 83-93.
Aim
To investigate the financial impact of a musculoskeletal pain prevention program.
Looked at
199 new employees of a large US aircraft manufacturer who received an initial musculoskeletal health risk appraisal followed by a tailored intervention program; a group of 240 employees (matched for age, sex and job type) who did not participate in the program were used as a control.
How?
Outcome measures (including injury rates, injury severity, compensation costs, and productivity) were compared for the risk assessment group, the matched control group, and the total company between 1998 and 1999.
Results
- Employees who took part in the program had lower injury rates, less severe injuries, lower compensation costs, and better productivity than the control employees.
- Musculoskeletal problems that did develop in the intervention group cost less to treat than those in the control group (US$2,468 vs $3,800, respectively).
- The net direct cost saving per musculoskeletal pain case was $1,332, giving an overall benefit-to-cost ratio of more than 34:1.
What does this mean?
The musculoskeletal pain prevention program was associated with substantial employer benefits; direct dollar savings of $2.42 million and estimated indirect dollar savings of over $13.5 million.