Travelers predictive model aims to prevent chronic pain for injured workers

Travelers Cos. Inc. has developed a predictive model that identifies the likelihood of an injured worker developing chronic pain, the company said.

Travelers Early Severity Predictor, which was designed to mitigate chronic pain caused by workplace injuries, has been used in more than 20,000 cases since 2015, Travelers said in a statement on Tuesday.

The more than 9,000 injured workers who were identified as being at risk of developing chronic pain “received a customized, sports medicine-like regimen of treatment precisely sequenced to aid and accelerate their recovery,” according to the statement.

On average, injured workers who participated in Travelers Early Severity Predictor program recovered and returned to work faster and were less likely to receive opioids, the statement said, noting that injured workers who were prescribed opioids typically received a lower dosage and/or it was only for short-term use.

“When someone develops chronic pain, they are prescribed opioids or other painkillers more than 90% of the time,” Dr. Adam Seidner, national medical director at Travelers, said in the statement. “Our goal is to work with injured employees and their doctors to eliminate or substantially reduce the need for painkillers that can slow their recovery or lead to devastating long-term addiction.”