April 7, 2000 CareWorks Introduces Internet Injury Reporting Center

(DUBLIN, OH) - CareWorks, in a continuous effort to simplify and improve the reporting of new workers' compensation claims for its Ohio employer customers, today announced the introduction of its Internet Injury Reporting Center.

"We realize the dramatic impact timely injury reporting has on our customers' workers' compensation premium and the medical care their injured workers receive," said William W. Pfeiffer, CareWorks' President and CEO. "We wanted to give our customers an injury reporting option that took advantage of the flexibility and global reach of the Internet."

National statistics clearly indicate that the earlier a workplace injury is reported, the lower the overall claim costs and the higher probability of a successful return to work for the injured worker.

"With the introduction of our Internet Injury Reporting Center we are now offering our customers a cutting edge approach to injury reporting, on top of the 24-hour phone and facsimile reporting services we already provide," said Pfeiffer.

Employers who have selected CareWorks as their managed care organization (MCO) can now take advantage of this new online reporting option. By visiting www.careworks.com, users can click on an animated siren graphic to link directly to the Injury Reporting Center.

Once inside, users can provide CareWorks with all of the mandatory data elements needed to successfully report a new First Report of Injury (FROI) with the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC). The easy-to-use form is divided into four distinct areas -- Injured Worker Information, Injury Information, Treatment Information and Employment Information.

Built-in Java scripts automatically prompt users for any mandatory information that is not provided. In effect, this programming feature prevents new FROIs from being submitted without all of the mandatory information present.

"We wanted to develop a product that would not only be user-friendly, but would also be in line with BWC requirements," said Pfeiffer. "The initial feedback we have received from our customers has been tremendous. They like the flexibility the Internet offers, and the ability to report new injuries from any location, at any time, without all the paperwork."

CareWorks is Ohio's leading MCO, providing medical and claims management services for more than 48,000 Ohio employers under BWC's Health Partnership Program (HPP). Today, CareWorks medically manages more than half a billion dollars in workers' compensation premium.

Since HPP was implemented in March 1997, CareWorks has processed more new injuries and helped more injured Ohioans recover from workplace injury and successfully return to work than any other MCO in Ohio.

To learn more about CareWorks' Injury Reporting Center visit www.careworks.com or contact CareWorks, toll-free, at 1-888-627-7586.