OREANDA-NEWS. September 30, 2014. Aviva has announced that their innovative rehabilitation service for musculoskeletal conditions, BacktoBetter, will now be available as standard on Solutions private medical insurance plans for small and medium sized corporate clients.

Launched last year to large corporate private medical insurance clients, BacktoBetter has proven highly successful, treating employees with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions quickly and effectively without the need to see a GP, while also reducing claims spend for the client. Its introduction as a standard benefit for SME clients with Aviva’s private medical insurance is one of a number of enhancements that will come into effect from 1 December 2014.

SMEs are heavily reliant on their workforce and any long term absence can be especially costly and have a significant impact. As MSK conditions are currently the third most common cause of long term absence in the UK with around 7.5 million working days lost each year, it is important for SMEs and their employees to be able to quickly access personalised, targeted assistance, to help get employees back to work as quickly as possible.

Aviva’s leading BacktoBetter approach to treating MSK conditions is based on early intervention. Employees are provided with quick and easy access to clinical expertise and there is no need for them to see a GP first. Clinical case managers provide a highly personal end-to-end rehabilitation service, with quick and accurate diagnosis, advice about self management, and a tailored treatment plan with access to high quality clinical experts if required.

Doug Wright, medical director at Aviva UK Health, says: “We’re delighted to extend our successful BacktoBetter service as standard to our SME clients.  Our PMI claims data shows that over a quarter, 27%, of our SME clients’ claims are for musculoskeletal conditions such as back, neck, muscle and joint pain.

“If not treated quickly and effectively, injuries can get worse, productivity can drop and the cost of claims spend and absence can quickly rise. BacktoBetter addresses these issues and over 20,000 employees have already benefited from the service and returned to work quickly. Our latest figures also show very high levels of satisfaction with BacktoBetter, with most employees saying they would recommend the service to others.

“The value of the service will be significant for SME clients, helping them to maintain productivity and reducing the impact of MSK related absence on both the organisation and their other employees.”

Large corporate clients using the BacktoBetter service in the last year have seen reductions in absence levels and claims costs, with the cost per MSK claim reducing by an average of 15% for a number of corporate clients, with some clients seeing as much as 30% when compared to unmanaged MSK claims. Over time, the service will help to lower clients’ future private medical insurance costs.

Only 25% of MSK claims require onward referral to a specialist through BacktoBetter, compared with 60% of unmanaged MSK claims – this is because BacktoBetter uses evidence based clinical pathways and only appropriate claims are referred on for specialist intervention.