Comp disability guideline publisher acquired by Hearst

Work Loss Data Institute, which publishes a set of well-known workers compensation disability treatment guidelines, has been acquired by New York media conglomerate Hearst Corp.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The for-profit Work Loss Data Institute, based in Encinitas, California, publishes the Official Disability Guidelines, a set of evidence-based care management guidelines widely used by workers comp insurers, claims handlers and state insurance regulators to manage medical care for injured workers.

The institute will become part of Seattle-based MCG Health, a unit of Hearst Health Network that also publishes medical care management guidelines, the companies said Thursday in a statement.

Phil Denniston will step down as president and CEO of Work Loss Data Institute and will continue in a consulting position along with co-founder Pat Whelan, the statement said.

Phil LeFevre, senior vice president of business development for Work Loss Data Institute, will take on an unspecified leadership role with the company, reporting to MCG Health President and CEO Jon Shreve, according to the statement.

“It is a natural fit for WLDI to join MCG as they share a common evidence-based editorial approach,” Dr. Gregory Dorn, president of Hearst Health, said in the statement. “WLDI will help us advance Hearst Health’s mission by now putting information into the hands of clinicians focused on getting folks healthy and back to work.”