Abstract:
A method for managing the absence of an employee is disclosed. The method includes generating an incident case related to the absence, defining portions of the incident case, and integrating the portions such that the incident case is accessible by one or more entities involved with managing the absence.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) from provisional U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60/356,824 filed Feb. 14, 2002, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The present application is related, generally, to systems and methods for managing employee absences. As used herein, the term “absence” generally refers to a period of time that an employee is away from or restricted from fully performing the job normally performed by that employee, and the term “absence management” generally refers to the case management process for facilitating the employee&#39;s return to the job and includes the continuing management of the employees&#39; status until all medical restrictions have been removed and the employee returns to full-duty. 
     An employee absence is typically triggered when an employee suffers an injury or illness. Such an injury or illness is commonly referred to as an incident. The costs associated with an employee absence incurred by an employer include both direct and indirect costs, and are directly correlated with the profitability of the employer. The direct costs include items such as insurance premiums, medical expenses, legal expenses, sick pay, disability income and administrative fees. The indirect costs include items such as lost productivity, overtime, replacement worker expenses, investigation expenses and decreased product quality. The costs associated with employee absences continue to escalate, and are estimated to exceed $1 trillion per year in the United States. 
     To improve profitability, employers have traditionally opted to focus the majority of their efforts on improving functions or departments that generate revenues, often devoting little or no attention to the practice of absence management. However, given the increasingly negative effect that employee absence costs are having on the bottom line of many employers, greater efforts are now being directed to proactively managing employee absences to reduce the costs associated therewith. 
     Although many employers now realize the strategic importance of absence management, the effective implementation of absence management has been relatively difficult. Absence management as currently practiced by many employers is a very fragmented, regulatory laden, form-burdened, manual process that involves a number of different entities. Such entities can include, for example, a case manager, human resource personnel, physicians, physical therapists, occupational therapists, attorneys, insurance carriers, third-party administrators, and governmental personnel. Absence management can require both extensive internal (e.g., department to department, employer to employee) and external (e.g., employer to physician, employer to attorney) communications, and each entity involved in the process can generate a great deal of information that collectively comprise the content of a particular case. 
     The fragmented absence management currently practiced by many employers is generally not conducive to effectively managing the case, accurately identifying the direct and indirect costs associated with the employee absence, or to compiling all of the information generated by the various entities. Employers are recognizing that it is extremely difficult to make good absence management decisions without knowing the actual costs associated with the employee absence or having access to the information generated by each entity involved in the process. Understandably, many employers are concluding that the absence management processes they currently follow are highly inefficient and relatively expensive to administer, and are not producing the desired level of improvement to the employer&#39;s profitability or the employee&#39;s care. 
     SUMMARY 
     In one general respect, the present invention is directed to a method for managing an absence of an employee. According to one embodiment, the method includes generating an incident case related to the absence, defining portions of the incident case, and integrating the portions such that the incident case is accessible by one or more entities involved with managing the absence. The method may also include populating a relational database with a plurality of parent files associated with one or more of the entities, and generating a report related to the absence. 
     In another general respect, the present invention is directed to a computer program stored on a computer readable medium. According to one embodiment, the computer program includes instructions to generate an incident case related to an absence of an employee, define portions of the incident case, and integrate the portions such that the incident case is accessible by one or more entities involved with managing the absence. The computer program may also include instructions to populate a relational database with a plurality of parent files associated with one or more of the entities, and generate a report related to the absence. 
     In another general respect, the present invention is directed to a system for managing an absence of an employee. According to one embodiment, the system includes means for generating an incident case related to the absence, means for defining portions of the incident case, and means for integrating the portions such that the incident case is accessible by one or more entities involved with managing the absence. The system may also include means for populating a relational database with a plurality of parent files associated with one or more of the entities, and means for generating a report related to the absence. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates one embodiment of a absence management system; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates one embodiment of an application server which comprises part of the absence management system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates one embodiment of a process flow through the absence management system of  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 4  illustrates one embodiment of a welcome screen generated by the absence management system of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
     It is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of the present invention have been simplified to illustrate elements that are relevant for a clear understanding of the present invention, while eliminating, for purposes of clarity, other elements. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize, however, that these and other elements may be desirable. However, because such elements are well known in the art, and because they do not facilitate a better understanding of the present invention, a discussion of such elements is not provided herein. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates one embodiment of an absence management system  10 . The absence management system  10  may include a client system  12 , a network  14 , and a host system  16 . The client system  12  and the host system  16  may be configured to communicate and exchange information with one another via the network  14 . The absence management system  10  may be used to receive, integrate and present information associated with the absence of an employee, and such information may be utilized to make absence management decisions. 
     In general, the client system  12  may include a computer system having hardware and/or software components for communicating with the network  14  and the host system  16 . The client system  12  may include one or more general-purpose computers (e.g., personal computers and/or servers), one or more special-purpose computers (e.g., devices specifically programmed to communicate with each other), or a combination of one or more general-purpose computers and one or more special-purpose computers. The client system  12  may be structured and arranged to communicate using various communication protocols (e.g., HTTP, TCP/IP, WAP, UDP) to establish connections between network elements and/or to operate within or in concert with one or more other systems such as, for example, the Internet and/or the World Wide Web (Web). 
     In one embodiment, the client system  12  may be implemented as a client device  18  operating under the command of a client controller  20 . The broken lines shown surrounding the client controller  20  in  FIG. 1  are intended to indicate that in some embodiments, the client controller  20 , or portions thereof considered collectively, may instruct one or more elements of the client device  18  to operate as described. 
     According to one embodiment, the client device  18  may be implemented as a general-purpose computer capable of responding to and executing instructions in a defined manner. According to other embodiments, the client device  18  may be implemented as a special-purpose computer, a personal computer (PC), a workstation, a server, a laptop computer, a web-enabled telephone, a web-enabled personal digital assistant (PDA), a microprocessor, an integrated circuit, or any other component, machine, tool, equipment, or some combination thereof capable of responding to and executing instructions. 
     According to one embodiment, the client controller  20  may be implemented as a software application (e.g., operating system, browser application, client application, server application, proxy application, on-line service provider application, and/or private network application) installed on the client device  18  for directing communications. According to other embodiments, the client controller  20  may be implemented as a computer program, code, set of instructions, or some combination thereof, for independently or collectively instructing the client device  18  to interact and operate as programmed. The client controller  20  may be implemented utilizing any suitable computer language (e.g., Java, C or C++) and/or object-oriented techniques. According to another embodiment, the client controller  20  also may be implemented as a device, such as a workstation or PC, a microprocessor, a network server, a Java virtual machine, or an application-specific integrated circuit. 
     The client controller  20  may be embodied permanently or temporarily in any type of machine, component, physical or virtual equipment, storage medium, or propagated signal capable of delivering instructions to the client device  18 . In particular, the client controller  20  (e.g., software application, computer program) may be stored on a storage medium (e.g., disk, device, or propagated signal), readable by a computer system, such that if the storage medium is read by the computer system, the functions described herein are performed. 
     According to one embodiment, the client system  12  may include a personal computer running a browser application. The client system  12  may display various graphical user interfaces (GUIs), such as Web pages, that request input from and deliver information to a user of the absence management system  10 . For example, a system user may input requested information into a series of GUIs and then be presented with a display of absence management information. 
     The network  14  may include one or more delivery systems for directly or indirectly connecting the client system  12  and the host system  16 . Examples of delivery systems include, but are not limited to, a local area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), the Internet, the Web, a telephony network (e.g., analog, digital, wired, wireless, PSTN, ISDN, or xDSL), a radio network, a television network, a cable network, a satellite network, and/or any other wired or wireless communications network configured to carry data. Each network may include one or more elements, such as, for example, intermediate nodes, proxy servers, firewalls, routers, switches, adapters, sockets, and wired or wireless data pathways, configured to direct and/or deliver data. 
     In general, the host system  16  may include a computer system having hardware and/or software components for communicating with the network  14  and the client system  12 . The host system  16  may include one or more general-purpose computers (e.g., personal computers and/or servers), one or more special-purpose computers (e.g., devices specifically programmed to communicate with each other), or a combination of one or more general-purpose computers and one or more special-purpose computers. The host system  16  may be structured and arranged to communicate using various communication protocols (e.g., HTTP, TCP/IP, WAP, UDP) to establish connections between network elements and/or to operate within or in concert with one or more other systems (e.g., the Internet and/or Web). The host system  16  may also include and/or form part of an information delivery network, such as, for example, the Internet, the Web, an on-line service provider, a private network, and/or any other analog or digital wired and/or wireless network that provides information. 
     In one embodiment, the host system  16  may include a host device  22  operating under the command of a host controller  24 . The broken lines shown surrounding the host controller  24  in  FIG. 1  are intended to indicate that in some implementations, the host controller  24 , or portions thereof considered collectively, may instruct one or more elements of the host device  22  to operate as described. The host device  22  and the host controller  24  may be similar to the client device  18  and client controller  20  described hereinabove. Accordingly, the function of retrieving and displaying/printing absence management information may be implemented as software controlling one or more elements of the client system  12  and/or the host system  16 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the host device  22  may include a database server  26  and an application server  28  in communication with the database server  26 . The database server  26  may store data  29  such as, for example, absence management information, and such data  29  may be structured and organized as a relational database. The relational database may comprise a portion of a database management system, and the query language used for defining, maintaining, and viewing the absence management information in the relational database may be a structured query language (SQL). 
     The application server  28  may be configured to receive absence management information from the client system  12  via the network  14  and to present absence management information to the client system  12  via the network  14 . The application server  28 , which will be described in more detail hereinbelow with respect to  FIG. 2 , may also be configured to access various software applications, and the software applications may be stored at the application server  28  or elsewhere. It is to be understood that while the database server  26  and the application server  28  are shown in  FIG. 1  as monolithic structures, each may include numerous elements (e.g., servers, routers, switches, firewalls, sockets, databases, tables, disks, hard drives, etc.) in various embodiments of the host system  16 . For example, according to one embodiment, the application server  28  may include and/or form a part of a web server. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates one embodiment of the application server  28  of  FIG. 1 . In this embodiment, the application server  28  may include a processor  30 . The processor  30  may be a central processing unit (CPU) including, e.g., a microprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more printed circuit boards. The application server  28  may also include one or more of the following modules: a safety module  32 ; a medical module  34 , a physical therapy module  36 , a work related module  38 , a non-work related module  40 , a job analysis module  42 , a scheduler module  44 , a legal module  46 , a cost module  48 , a financial module  50 , and a rehabilitation reminder module  52 . As used in the absence management method described hereinbelow, one or more of the modules  32 - 52  may function independently of one another, or may be fully integrated with each other. The application server  28  may also include any number of other modules such as, for example, an absence tracking module, a security module, a labor relations module, a wellness module, an environmental module and a risk management module. The application server  28  may also include a custom report writer module configured for use with the absence management system  10 . 
     According to one embodiment, the modules  32 – 52  may be implemented, for example, as microcode configured into the logic of the processor  30 , or may be implemented as programmable microcode stored in an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM). According to another embodiment, the modules  32 – 52  may be implemented as software code to be executed by the processor  30 . The software code may be written in any suitable programming language using any suitable programming technique. For example, the software code may be written in C using procedural programming techniques, or in Java or C++ using object-oriented programming techniques. The software code may be stored as a series of instructions or commands on a computer readable medium, such as a random access memory (RAM) or a read only memory (ROM), a magnetic medium such as a hard-drive or a floppy disk, or an optical medium such as a CD-ROM. 
     According to one embodiment, a number of the modules  32 – 52  may have built-in knowledge bases that detail best-practice case management procedures. The modules  32 – 52  may be configured to prompt a user of the absence management system  10  to access the built-in knowledge bases when appropriate. The modules  32 – 52  may also include an auditing feature that can track the access of the built-in knowledge bases by a user of the absence management system  10 . 
     The safety module  32  may be used to record and modify certain details of an incident. The recorded details may include, for example, information concerning an accident, an illness, an injury type, an accident date, an accident location, an accident time, an accident witness and a treatment received. The recorded details define portions of an incident case, a compilation of information associated with an employee absence. The safety module  32  may also be used to generate reports such as, for example, injury reports, mandatory state reports, and OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) logs, needed to comply with various state and federal requirements. 
     The medical module  34  may be used to record and modify certain details of an employee&#39;s visit to a physician. The recorded details may include, for example, information concerning an attending physician, a treatment date, an injury diagnosis and a treatment plan. The recorded details define portions of an incident case. The medical module  34  may also be used to generate reports such as, for example, drug test reports and patient satisfaction reports. 
     The physical therapy module  36  may be used to record and modify certain details of an employee&#39;s visit to a physical therapist. The recorded details may include, for example, information concerning a primary therapist, an attending therapist, a therapy type, a therapy date and a physical therapy plan. The recorded details form portions of an incident case. The physical therapy module  36  may also be used to generate reports such as, for example, functional capacity evaluation reports. 
     The work related module  38  may be used to record and modify certain details of a workplace injury or illness suffered by an employee. The recorded details may include, for example, information concerning a work related claim, a claim date, a benefit amount, an employee contact date, a supervisor contact date and a physician contact date. The recorded details form portions of an incident case. The work related module  38  may also be used to generate reports such as, for example, reports showing whether an employee absence is work related or non-work related, reports showing the total number of work related and non-work related days of absence, reports showing the number of light duty cases and reports showing the number of lost time cases. 
     The non-work related module  40  may be used to record and modify certain details of a non-workplace injury or illness suffered by an employee. The recorded details may include, for example, information concerning a non-work related claim, a claim date, a benefit amount, an employee contact date, a supervisor contact date and a physician contact date. The recorded details form portions of an incident case. The non-work related module  40  may also be used to generate reports such as, for example, reports showing whether an employee absence is work related or non-work related, reports showing the total number of work related and non-work related days of absence, reports showing the number of light duty cases and reports showing the number of lost time cases. 
     The job analysis module  42  may be used to record and modify certain details of an employee&#39;s job. The recorded details may include, for example, information concerning a job title, a job function, a list of equipment used and a list of materials used. The recorded details define portions of an incident case. The job analysis module  42  may also be used to generate reports such as, for example, reports showing the primary functions and physical demands of a particular job. 
     The scheduler module  44  may be used to record and modify certain details of an employee&#39;s appointments associated with an absence. The recorded details may include, for example, information concerning a provider, a physician, a physical therapist, an appointment date, an appointment time and an appointment location. The recorded details define portions of an incident case. The scheduler module  44  may also be used to generate reports such as, for example, reports showing all the appointments scheduled for certain physicians. 
     The legal module  46  may be used to record and modify certain details of a legal case associated with an employee absence. One example of such a case would be a workers&#39; compensation case. The recorded details may include, for example, information concerning an attorney name, an attorney phone number, a meeting date and a hearing date. The recorded details define portions of an incident case. The legal module  46  may also be used to incorporate documents such as, for example, photographs related to the legal case, with the incident case. 
     The cost module  48  may be used to record and modify certain details of the direct and indirect costs, including fixed and variable costs, associated with an employee absence. The recorded details may include, for example, information concerning an employee&#39;s salary, an insurance premium and a pay rate of a replacement worker. The recorded details define portions of an incident case. 
     The financial module  50  may be used to record and modify certain details associated with the fiscal management of an employee absence. The recorded details may include, for example, information concerning a bank name, an account number, an initial indemnity reserve amount, an initial legal reserve amount, an initial medical reserve amount, a transaction date and a transaction amount. The recorded details define portions of an incident case. The financial module  50  may also be used to generate reports such as, for example, reports showing account balances. 
     The rehabilitation module  52  may be used to assist disability management professionals by providing clinical definitions, illustrations, disability duration and treatment guidelines for illnesses and injuries. The rehabilitation module  52  may also be used to generate reports such as, for example, reports showing the ICD9 Code and the corresponding diagnosis for various inpatient or outpatient medical conditions. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates one embodiment of a process flow through the absence management system  10  of  FIG. 1 . The absence/case management process flow begins at block  60 , where one of the entities involved in the absence management process accesses a welcome screen generated by the absence management system  10  and displayed by the client system  12 . An example of one embodiment of the welcome screen is shown in  FIG. 4 . From block  60 , the process advances to block  62 , where a relational database accessible by the database server  26  is populated with a plurality of parent files associated with one or more of the entities involved in the absence management process. The parent files may include employer information, employee information, medical provider information, insurance information, benefit information and union information. According to one embodiment, the information included in the parent files may be input to the absence management system  10  by selecting the “process” option shown in the menu bar of the welcome screen, then entering the requested information. According to another embodiment, file templates and application programming interfaces may be used to load bulk data from an external system to the absence management system  10 . The application programming interfaces may also be used to transfer data from the absence management system  10  to one or more external systems. 
     From block  62 , the process flow advances to block  64 , where an incident case related to the employee absence is generated. According to one embodiment, the incident case may be generated by selecting the “safety” icon or the “medical” icon from the welcome screen, then selecting the “new incident case number” option. According to another embodiment, the incident case may be generated by selecting the “work related” icon, the “non-work related” icon, or the “physical therapy” icon from the welcome screen, then selecting the “new incident case number” option. From block  64 , the process flow advances to block  66 , where the various portions of the incident case are defined. The various portions of the incident case are defined by information input into the absence management system  10  via the client system  12 . The information may be input throughout the life cycle of the employee absence by one or more of the entities involved in the absence management process. Collectively, the information input by one or more of the entities comprise the content of the incident case. According to one embodiment, the information may be input via graphical user interfaces created by one or more of the modules  32 – 50  described hereinabove and displayed by the client system  12 . 
     From block  66 , the process flow advances to block  68 , where the client system  12  transmits the information to the host system  16  via the network  14 . From block  68 , the process flow advances to block  70 , where the host system  16  receives the information transmitted from the client system  12 . According to one embodiment, the transmitted information  12  may be received by the application server  28  described hereinabove. From block  70 , the process advances to block  72 , where the information defining the various portions of the incident case is stored and organized within a relational database. According to one embodiment, the information is accessible by the database server  26  described hereinabove and may also be stored at the database server  26 . 
     From block  72 , the process flow advances to block  74 , where the one of the entities involved in the absence management process (e.g., a case manager) requests information from the absence management system  10 . The request may be for information defining one or more portions of the incident case or it may be for one of the reports that can be generated by the absence management system  10 . According to one embodiment, the request may be initiated by selecting an option from a graphical user interface displayed at the client system  12 . From block  74 , the process flow advances to block  76 , where the client system  12  transmits the request to the host system  16  via the network  14 . 
     From block  76 , the process flow advances to block  78 , where the host system  16  receives the request, processes the request, and transmits the requested information to the client system  12  via the network  14 . From block  78 , the process flow advances to block  80 , where the client system  12  receives the requested information, processes the requested information, and presents the requested information to the entity. According to one embodiment, the requested information may be presented to the entity via a display monitor of the client system  12 . According to another embodiment, the requested information may be presented to the entity via a printer of the client system  12 . 
     From block  80 , the process flow may return to block  66  or to block  74 , where the process flow advances as described hereinabove, or the process flow may advance to block  82 , where the incident case can be closed. According to one embodiment, the incident case may be closed by accessing the welcome screen, selecting the “administration” option shown in the menu bar, then selecting the “close incident” option. 
     With the assistance of the process described hereinabove, one or more of the entities involved in the absence/case management process may access all of the information associated with the employee absence, and may utilize the information in conjunction with the best-practice procedures incorporated in the modules  32 – 52  to make well-informed absence/case management decisions. 
     While several embodiments of the invention have been described, it should be apparent, however, that various modifications, alterations and adaptations to those embodiments may occur to persons skilled in the art with the attainment of some or all of the advantages of the present invention. It is therefore intended to cover all such modifications, alterations and adaptations without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.