Disability and medical management of natural latex sensitivity claims.

In 1995 a latex allergy case incurred a cost of $220,000 within the first year of the claim. A number of factors were thought to contribute to the cost of these claims. In 1996 Michigan Health & Hospital Association Service Corporation identified and implemented protocols to intervene early with latex sensitivity claims. The average cost per case has decreased dramatically since the implementation of the protocols. Decreasing the frequency and the average cost of latex sensitivity claims through the identification, treatment, and return to work of legitimate latex sensitivity cases has been the focus. Equally important was to minimize the impact of latex sensitivity on the life of the health care worker. In 1999 and subsequent years, data from glove- or latex-related claims that began from 1996 were analyzed. Latex sensitivity-related claims were sorted as lost-time claims and medical-only claims from the Michigan Health & Hospital Association Service Corporation claims database. The average cost per claim and the frequency of latex-related claims were identified. The average cost of latex-related lost-time claims has decreased significantly; however, the frequency in lost-time claims has been consistent. Health care workers consistently were returned to work successfully. Implementation of latex-sensitivity protocols is effective in the reduction of the average cost of latex-related claims and the impact of those claims on the lives of health care workers. This has been afforded through the confirmation of the diagnosis of latex sensitivity, followed by the implementation of a method to evaluate the physiologic response to the workplace objectively.