Attorney Lutes will review covered entities, excepted benefits, enforcement, and penalties as well as suggest a framework for privacy compliance - core rules and concepts to remember. He will discuss the impact of the business associate rules on all vendors of health related services. He will also explore the rules affecting disclosure of information to employers - in the occupational health context and otherwise. Attorney Lutes will contrast permitted disclosures to workers compensation programs with the impact of the rules on medical management programs generally. Attorney Lutes will offer practical advice on risk management strategies for reputational, tort, and regulatory risks. He will also focus on techniques for documenting compliance programs around the "minimum necessary" and physical, technical, and administrative safeguard standards.

Mark E. Lutes, Esquire, is a member of the national health law firm of Epstein, Becker & Green, PC, in Washington, DC. He received his BA from Georgetown, his JD from Georgetown University Law Center, and his MPA from the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers. Attorney Lutes has lectured and written extensively on HIPAA, privacy, and confidentiality. Attorney Lutes was a legislative advisor to the United States Federal Trade Commission and is a former Editor-in-Chief of the journal Managing Employee Health Benefits.

Ms. LeBlanc and Dr. Sherak will offer practical, cost-effective advice on how to get critical results from the Fitness for Duty Assessments process. They will discuss workplace conditions that can warrant FFD evaluations as well as appropriate referral questions and possible outcomes from an evaluation. Ms. LeBlanc and Dr. Sherak will explain how to locate and contract with appropriately trained evaluators. Ms. LeBlanc and Dr. Sherak will review the components of an effective standard operating policy and procedure for implementing Psychiatric FFD examinations and reports. Using cases from their work together, they will describe some of the common difficulties that can arise in the course of a psychiatric FFD process and they will discuss the components of comprehensive, effective reports. An annotated bibliography of useful resources will be provided.

Melissa J. LeBlanc, BSN, RN, CCM, COHN-S, is the Occupational Health Nurse Administrator at the US Postal Service in Providence, Rhode Island. She received her BS in Nursing from Rhode Island College. Ms. LeBlanc is a certified occupational health nurse specialist and case manager. Ms. LeBlanc has lectured extensively on psychiatric fitness for duty exams.

Donald L. Sherak, MD, is a psychiatrist in private practice in Brookline, Massachusetts. He is the Medical Director of the Whitney Academy and is a consultant to the DSS/DMH Collaborative Assessment Program. Dr. Sherak is Board Certified in General Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Forensic Psychiatry and has written and lectured extensively on psychiatric fitness for duty exams. Dr. Sherak has been a contract consultant to the United States Postal Service, private corporations, local police and fire departments and the MBTA.

Dr. Sherak and Ms. LeBlanc have collaborated together on over 120 fitness assessments. They have co-authored an Advisory on Fitness Assessments for the AAOHN Journal and have been presenting together at local and national conferences over the past four years.

Ms. Isernhagen will discuss the common barriers to early and safe return to work including delayed medical releases, overly restrictive restrictions, and too few options for modified work. She will review how and why managing by paper, rather than by person, inhibits proper decision-making. Ms. Isernhagen will explain how a system that bonds objective functional capacity with any or all jobs available, provides objectivity, rapidity, and safety in work return. Ms. Isernhagen will offer practical, cost-effective suggestions for how to integrate medical, functional, and job criteria into one document and decrease counterproductive subjective decisions.

Susan J. Isernhagen is a physical therapist recognized as an expert in work injury management and is President of Isernhagen Work Systems in Duluth, Minnesota. Ms. Isernhagen has presented educational seminars and workshops, both nationally and internationally. She has presented functional assessment, work hardening, and ergonomic injury prevention programs in 32 states in the United States and 4 provinces of Canada. Internationally, she presented occupational medicine seminars in Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, and Melbourne, Australia; Zurich and Bellikon, Switzerland; Singapore; Hong Kong; the Netherlands; England; and Israel. Ms. Isernhagen is the author of The Comprehensive Guide to Work Injury Management and Work Injury: Management and Prevention.

Attorney Pierce will discuss how the decision of the US Supreme Court in Daubert v. Merril Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. impacts the medical evidence presented in workers' compensation cases. He will explain how controversial medical diagnoses such as multiple chemical sensitivity, sick building syndrome, and others are being impacted by so-called Daubert motions to exclude medical testimony. Attorney Pierce will demonstrate how these evidentiary standards are changing the types of workers' compensation cases that can be successfully litigated. Attorney Pierce will offer practical advice on how to understand the implications of Daubert from the plaintiff or claimant and defense standpoint.

Alan S. Pierce, Esquire, is a workers' compensation trial attorney at the law offices of Alan S. Pierce & Associates in Boston, Massachusetts. Attorney Pierce received his BA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and his JD from Suffolk University Law School. Attorney Pierce has written and lectured about all aspects of workers' compensation and has been a claims adjuster and both a defense attorney and plaintiff's counsel. Attorney Pierce is a member of the Workers' Compensation Advisory Council and a former chairperson of the Massachusetts Bar Association, Workers' Compensation Section.

Dr. Chalupka will provide important information and tools for practicing occupational health professionals to meet the environmental challenges present in today's workplace. Approximately 71 million employees work indoors in the United States. The US Bureau of Labor statistics estimates that more than 21 million of these are exposed to environmental health hazards. Employees most at risk include those working in service industries, in wholesale and retail trades, and in government. She will discuss sources and causes of poor environmental quality in the workplace. She will address indoor environmental quality and comfort factors, biological mechanisms of indoor environment-related illness, and volatile organic chemicals indoors and their heath effects. Dr. Chalupka will explain the role of the occupational health professional in the identification and evaluation of environmental related health problems in the workplace. Dr. Chalupka will offer practical advice on how to evaluate the work-relatedness of poor indoor environmental problems and minimize or prevent exposure to environmental hazards in the workplace.

Stephanie M. Chalupka, EdD, APRN, BC, CEN, is an Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Education at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, Department of Nursing. She received her MS in Nursing from Boston College and her EdD from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Dr. Chalupka has written and lectured extensively on all aspects of environmental health. She is the author of Essentials of Environmental Health: Enhancing Your Occupational Health Nursing Practice. Dr. Chalupka is a visiting scientist in occupational and environmental health at Harvard University Graduate School of Public Health.

Dr. Hunter will discuss the use of electrodiagnostic medicine in an occupational medicine setting. He will demonstrate the practical use of EMG (electromyography) and NCS (nerve conduction studies) in occupational medicine. He will explain how electrodiagnostic medicine evaluations can be used to prove or disprove occupational injury or disease claims. Dr. Hunter will review common EMG and NCS techniques and findings with emphasis on how to know whether a study has valid findings and clinically useful findings. Dr. Hunter will offer practical, cost-effective advice on how to utilize an electrodiagnostic medicine consultation in the clinical practice of occupational medicine.

Oregon Kenneth Hunter, Jr., MD, is a physician at Rehabilitation Medicine Associates in Ocala, Florida. He is board certified in occupational medicine, physical medicine, and rehab, pain management, and electrodiagnostic medicine. Dr. Hunter has written and lectured extensively on occupational medicine and electrodiagnostic medicine. Dr. Hunter is a certified instructor, Division of Workers' Compensation for the mandated physician certification course on workers' compensation and is Commissioner, Commission on Disability Examination Certification. He is currently the President of the Florida Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Dr. Hunter is a co-author of the Florida Impairment Rating Guide and he received the Physician of the Year Award in 1992 from the National Association of Rehabilitation Providers in the Private Sector.

Dr. Freifeld will discuss the definition of occupational hearing loss and criteria for its diagnosis. He will review impairment and disability. He will explain problems of causation, particularly in relation to non-occupational types of hearing loss. Dr. Freifeld will offer cost-effective, practical advice on how to conduct hearing conservation programs and the format for workers' compensation examinations for hearing loss.

Stephen F. Freifeld, MD, is a practicing otolaryngologist in Springfield, NJ and Medical Director of SEAK, Inc. He received his BA from Cornell University and his MD from New York Medical College. Dr. Freifeld is board certified in otolaryngology, head and neck surgery, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a Fellow of the American Academy of Disability Evaluating Physicians, and certified by the American Board of Independent Medical Examiners. Dr. Freifeld has written and lectured on occupational hearing loss. Dr. Freifeld is a certified instructor in occupational hearing conservation and has been retained by many companies and insurers as a consultant since 1975. He continues to perform surgery and treats patients in his specialty.

Dr. Zasler will examine the myriad of clinical issues following presumptive traumatic brain injury that may present in a typical or atypical fashion and serve as a basis for confusion regarding the true organic basis of complaints and/or clinical exam findings. He will explain the assessment of organic neurologic disease and related impairment following trauma from non-organic conditions including but not limited to somatoform/factitious disorders, malingering and symptom magnification. Issues of misapportionment of true trauma related disorders such as PTSD, depression, pain and/or anxiety to brain injury will also be reviewed. Specific neuro-exam techniques, encompassing both neurological and neuropsychological methods, will be reviewed to develop an understanding of differentiation of neurogenic from non-neurogenic impairment.

Nathan D. Zasler, MD, FAAPM&R, FAADEP, CIME, DAAPM, is CEO and Medical Director, Concussion Care Centre of Virginia, and CEO and Medical Director of Tree of Life Medical Consultant, Pinnacle Rehabilitation. He received his BS from the University of California, Los Angeles, and his MD from the Chicago Medical School. Dr. Zasler is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and fellowship trained in brain injury. Dr. Zasler has lectured and written extensively on traumatic brain injury and neurologic rehabilitation issues with over 500 lectures and several published textbooks including, Rehabilitation of Post-Concussive Disorders and Medical Rehabilitation of Traumatic Brain Injury.

Ms. Randolph will discuss the latest developments of medications in the workplace and identify professional practice implications. She will explain how to develop sound clinical guidelines for medications with examples. Ms. Randolph will provide information on medication selection, multi-state licensure, and telehealth practice. Ms. Randolph will offer practical, cost-effective suggestions on medication management based on the changes in workforce demographics and information technologies such as telehealth.

Susan A. Randolph, BSN, MSN, COHN-S, is a Clinical Instructor, Occupational Health Nursing Program at the University of North Carolina. She received her BSN from Ohio State University School of Nursing and her MSN from Indiana University School of Nursing. Ms. Randolph has written, lectured, and conducted extensive research in occupational health including medications in the workplace. Ms. Randolph is Vice President of the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses. 

Ms. Lawhorn will explain how scanning technology can be employed to replace a centralized medical records system and access 50,000 medical records at your desktop. She will identify components and process steps to implement a cost-effective, online medical record system. She will discuss management support, costs/budgets, work processes, training, and written documentation necessary for implementation. Ms. Lawhorn will identify capabilities and efficiencies of using scanned medical records for all functions of an occupational medical department.

Attorney Shilepsky will discuss the type of claims that are being brought and the conduct that gives rise to them. She will explain how such cases proceed - both prior to and during the litigation process. Attorney Shilepsky will review how such cases are resolved - through mediation, arbitration, and trial. Attorney Shilepsky will offer practical advice on how to resolve employment disputes before they end up in the hands of lawyers.

Nancy S. Shilepsky is a partner with the Boston firm of Perkins, Smith & Cohen, LLP and is chair of its Labor, Employment and Employee Benefits Department. She is a Fellow of The college of Labor & Employment Lawyers, and in June 2000, National Law Journal named her as one of the Commonwealth's most influential lawyers. Since 1984, Attorney Shilepsky has concentrated her practice in the area of employment law and litigation. She has represented both individuals and employers before administrative agencies, at arbitration and in court. Attorney Shilepsky is the co-author of Representing An Employee In An Unjust Dismissal Case and is co-editor of A Judicial Guide To Labor and Employment Law, published by the Flaschner Judicial Institute. Attorney Shilepsky is a member of the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education Employment Law Curriculum Advisory Committee and of the Board of Editors of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. She is also a former Commissioner of the Cambridge Human Rights Commission.

Attorney Brady will discuss how exposure to latex has become an increasing threat to health care workers. He will explain how to protect and assert your legal rights if your health is impacted by exposure to latex at work. He will review various laws which impact affected workers such as workers' compensation, Social Security long-term disability benefits and third party litigation. Attorney Brady will offer practical advice on what you need to know to represent latex allergic health care workers, where to obtain counsel, and what to expect of counsel in these cases.

James M. Brady is a founding partner in the firm of Brady & Monac, PC, in Walpole, Massachusetts. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Boston and of the New England School of Law. A former self-employed carpenter and musician, Mr. Brady is a veteran of the United States Navy Seabees and a former law clerk at the Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents. He is President-elect of the Bar Association of Norfolk County and a member of the American Trial Lawyers Association, the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys, Massachusetts Bar Association, Western Norfolk County Bar Association, Catholic Lawyers Guild of Boston, Workplace Injury Litigation Group, and the National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives. His practice is concentrated in workers' compensation and personal injury law. Focusing on cases involving persons who suffer from latex allergies and associated difficulties, Mr. Brady has lectured extensively on these subjects. He is the author of Disability and the Latex Allergic Health Care Worker, (a pamphlet published in affiliation with the National Center for Advanced Medical Education), and contributing author of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Cases and Daubert (MCLE 1998), and Workers' Compensation Practice in Massachusetts (MCLE 2001).

Dr. Seidner will discuss strength of association, consistency, specificity, temporal relationships, and latency periods in judging causation in workers' compensation cases. He will review biologic plausibility, medical models, and reasoning by analogy. Dr. Seidner will explain the role of exposure, chance of exposure, and dose response. Dr. Seidner will demonstrate the importance of the quality and coherence of the evidence in establishing causation. Dr. Seidner will offer practical, cost-effective suggestions for dealing with issues of causation in workers' compensation and occupational medicine.

Adam L. Seidner, MD, MPH, is the National Medical Director of Travelers Property Casualty, President of Medical Management Services and Workers' Compensation Claims in Hartford, Connecticut. He received his BA from Hamilton College, his MD from SUNY Health Science Center, and his MPH from the University of Hartford. Dr. Seidner has written and lectured extensively on occupational medicine and workers' compensation issues. Dr. Seidner is on the research and teaching faculty of the Middlesex Hospital in Middleton, Connecticut.

Attorney Mohr will explain what a claimant must prove and how best to defend and win an occupational disease claim. He will discuss techniques for strategies for successfully defending and winning an occupational disease claim or, in the alternative, posturing the claim for a reasonable settlement. Attorney Mohr will demonstrate ways to successfully investigate the claimant's prior health history and how to limit the employer's exposure in the event plaintiff succeeds. Attorney Mohr will offer practical advice on preparing and successfully defending an occupational disease claim, including obtaining the employee's previous health history and proving the job did not expose the employee to a greater risk of contracting the disease than the general public at large.

Attorney Valente will discuss a key element of legal claims management: why injured workers obtain counsel and different strategies that employers, adjusters, and occupational health professionals can do to not only avoid it, but to make the process less aggravating when counsel is involved. He will demonstrate why injured workers hire attorneys. Attorney Valente will explain what information is helpful to determine whether the injured worker is entitled to benefits and what evidence the employer can provide to allow the process to proceed at a reasonable pace with minimal time, energy, and effort expended by the employer. Attorney Valente will offer practical, cost-effective advice on both pro-active and re-active approaches to lessening the economic impact of work-related injuries.

John W. Valente, Esquire, is a trial lawyer with the Rutland, Vermont law firm of Ryan Smith & Carbine, LTD. He received his BA from Boston College and his JD from Suffolk University School of Law. Attorney Valente has written and lectured extensively on all aspects of workers' compensation defense. Attorney Valente is a member of the Defense Research Institute and Vermont Bar Association Workers' Compensation Committee. Attorney Valente is the author of Avoiding Workers' Compensation Aggravation and Workers' Compensation Practice and Procedure.

Dr. Shannon will discuss the use of alternative techniques and treatments for dealing with common mental health issues in the workplace. He will review data on the cost-effectiveness of these techniques, i.e., acupuncture, herbal medicine, and naturopathic care. Dr. Shannon will offer practical suggestions for safe and effective alternative and complementary treatment alternatives.

Scott Shannon, MD, has been involved in complementary and alternative healthcare for over twenty-five years. In 1978, he became one of the founding members of the American Holistic Medical Association. He is now the current president. Over the years, Dr. Shannon has worked as a primary care physician at a rural holistic clinic and as a Medical Director of a psychiatric hospital. Board certified in Child/Adolescent Psychiatry, General Psychiatry and most recently Holistic Medicine, his practice emphasizes education, herbal medicine, nutrition, spirituality, and acupuncture. Currently, Dr. Shannon works as a Medical Director for a hospital-based holistic clinic in Loveland, Colorado. He also serves on the Editorial Board of The Integrative Medicine Consult and speaks widely to professional audiences. His text, Handbook of Complementary and Alternative Therapies in Mental Health will be published this fall by Academic Press.

Dr. Hendler will discuss why 40%-67% of chronic pain patients are misdiagnosed, and how much this costs the insurance industry. He will explain the accuracy and appropriateness of various tests. He will demonstrate that current tests used by most physicians, such as MRI and CT scans, are inaccurate. Dr. Hendler will offer practical, cost-effective alternatives on how to obtain an accurate diagnosis without using an I.M.E. and utilize other types of more specific testing, to provide accurate diagnosis, proper treatment, and ultimately, cost savings averaging $1,654 per claim.

Nelson Howard Hendler, MD, MS, is the Medical Director of the Mensana Clinic, a diagnostic and treatment center for chronic pain in Stevenson, Maryland. He received his BA from Princeton University and his MD and MS from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Hendler has lectured both at medical schools and hospitals here, and in Argentina, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, Japan, Venezuela, Norway, and Holland, on chronic pain and has written three books, 29 medical textbook chapters and 50 articles on chronic pain. Dr. Hendler is board certified in psychiatry, and pain management. Dr. Hendler is Assistant Professor of Neurology in Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Professor Estreicher will review recent developments in the law governing employment arbitration. He will discuss the likely impact of such arbitrations on employment litigation and workers' compensation claims adjudication. Professor Estreicher will offer practical suggestions for employers and health care professionals on the best and most cost-effective ways to deal with employment dispute resolution.

Samuel Estreicher, Esquire is Professor of Law at New York University School of Law, labor and employment counsel for the New York office of O'Melveny & Myers LLP, and Faculty Director, Center for Labor and Employment Law at NYU School of Law. He received his BA from Columbia College, his MS from Cornell University Graduate School, and his JD from Columbia University School of Law. Professor Estreicher has written and lectured extensively on employment law and alternative dispute resolutions. His latest book, Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Employment Arena will be forthcoming shortly.

Mr. Quinley will review the risk management challenge of catastrophic injury claims. He will discuss defining and early diagnosing of a catastrophic injury claim. Mr. Quinley will explain how to be proactive and how to assemble and utilize a cost-effective crisis response team. He will demonstrate how focusing on the claimant and utilizing a four-part process can help control the costs of a catastrophic injury claim. Mr. Quinley will offer practical advice on how to establish realistic litigation alliances and goals in managing catastrophic injury claims.

Kevin M. Quinley is Senior Vice President, Risk Services, for MEDMARC Insurance Company in Fairfax, Virginia. He received his BA from Wake Forest University and his MA from the College of William & Mary. He holds the CPCU designation, plus specialty designations from the American Insurance Institute in Risk Management (ARM), Claims (AIC), Management (AIM), and Reinsurance (ARe). He has authored over five hundred published articles and eight books, including Time Management for Claim Professionals, The Quality Plan, Winning Strategies for Negotiating Claims, Reducing Product Liability Claims and Bulletproofing Your Medical Practice. Mr. Quinley teaches classes in insurance, claims, and risk management for the Washington, DC, CPCU Chapter, for whom he served as a past President.

Professor Garg will discuss differences in ergonomics beliefs and scientific findings. He will explain appropriate job analyses methods that can differentiate between safe and hazardous jobs. Professor Garg will demonstrate effectiveness of appropriate ergonomics interventions in preventing musculoskeletal injuries. Professor Garg will offer practical, cost-effective advice on how to implement a successful ergonomics program.

Arun Garg, PhD, is a Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering and Director of the Ergonomics Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin. He received his BS from the Indian Institute of Technology, his MS in Mechanical Engineering from Villanova University, and his IOE and his PhD from the University of Michigan. Professor Garg has lectured internationally and has written extensively and conducted extensive research about all aspects of ergonomics. Professor Garg is a certified professional ergonomist and a clinical professor at the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Prof Garg has served as a consultant to NIOSH, OSHA, EEOC and many other government organizations and private industries.

Ms. Wassel will explain the importance of developing accurate and useful corporate job analysis. She will discuss the use of these job analyses to help expedite returning injured workers to transitional work. Ms. Wassel will offer practical, cost-effective suggestions on how to improve return to work outcomes and reduce workers' compensation costs by formalizing transitional work options for ill and injured employees.

Mary Lou Wassel, MEd, RN, COHN-S/CM, ARM, is an occupational health consultant for Southern States Region Loss Control, Fireman's Fund Insurance Company in Atlanta, Georgia. She received her BSN from the College of Mt. St. Joseph, her MEd from George Mason University and her ARM from the Insurance Institute of America. Ms. Wassel has written and lectured extensively on occupational health and workers' compensation issues. She is a retired Captain in the US Navy Nurse Corps. Ms. Wassel was a former Director of Professional Affairs for the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses.

Ms. Dyck will discuss the relationship between organizational stressors, employee health, and organizational wellness. She will review some techniques for identifying and quantifying organizational stressors, and how to measure workplace wellness. Two indices of workplace health will be explained with a viewpoint of breaking the cycle of injury/illness in the workplace.

Dianne E.G. Dyck, RN, BN, MSc, COHN-S, COHN(C), is the Manager of the Occupational Health and Safety Section of ENMAX Corporation in Alberta, Canada. She received her RN from Montreal General Hospital, her DPHN from the University of Windsor, her BN and MSc from the University of Calgary and her OHNC from Grant McEwan Community College. Ms. Dyck has written and lectured extensively on occupational health issues. Ms. Dyck developed one of the first disability management programs in Canada and is the author of Disability Management: Theory Strategy and Industry Practice.

Dr. Talmage will discuss the basis of physician imposed activity restrictions. He will explain the concepts of capacity, tolerance, and risk. Dr. Talmage will demonstrate how the concepts of capacity, tolerance, and risk can be applied to work restriction, or work ability assessment in individuals with coronary artery disease and in individuals with low back pain.

 Attorney Valente will show how independent medical examinations and surveillance are two tools that can make, or break a workers compensation claim. He will discuss the similarities in providing your medical and surveillance consultants with complete and detailed information, including what to provide them, how best to communicate with them, and what information you should expect from them. Attorney Valente will demonstrate how good IMEs and good surveillance can be helpful to a case and how utilizing them together can be a powerful weapon in defending a claim. Attorney Valente will offer practical suggestions on how to provide the proper information to your consulting doctor or investigator in order to obtain the best results for your case.