When you report a work injury by calling the SFM Work Injury Hotline at (855) 675-3501, you'll have the option to let your employee speak with a nurse. This is a good option if your employee is unsure whether to seek medical treatment.

Here’s what happens when you call and choose the nurse option:

1. A nurse will answer.

The registered nurse will talk first with the supervisor, and then ask to speak with the employee.

2. The nurse will ask the employee questions about the injury.

These questions will help to determine severity of the injury and the best way to address it. The nurse uses patented software to assist them in asking injured workers the right questions to determine what type of medical care the employee needs.

3. The employee will get a treatment recommendation.

This could range from self-care to a clinic referral or even emergency treatment. If the nurse recommends self-care, instructions can be emailed or faxed to the workplace.

After the call, the nurse will send the report to SFM.

Injured workers who choose to self-treat can call back for further advice if their condition changes or worsens.

How the nurse service is provided

To make nurses available to injured workers, SFM partners with Medcor, a Midwest-based company that has pioneered workplace injury triage since 1997.

Medcor's nurses are specially trained in responding to work injuries, and they operate under the supervision of a full-time medical director who is board certified in emergency medicine.

They use software that supports the company's patented methods for making the best triage recommendations for injured employees.

The Medcor call center is accredited by URAC, an independent nonprofit health care standards organization.

Common questions about the nurse option

Here are answers to some of the questions you might have about the hotline:

• What if the injured employee doesn’t speak English?
  The nurses can access interpreters for more than 200 languages.
• Are third-party administrator, high-deductible and assigned risk plan policyholders included in this program?
  Clients whose claims are administered by SFM Risk Solutions (as a third-party administrator) or Superior Point (for the Minnesota Workers' Compensation Assigned Risk Plan) are NOT included in this program. Policyholders with deductibles over $100,000 can choose whether to participate. If you are a third-party administration client and need to report, go to the Report a TPA injury page. If you are insured through the Minnesota Workers' Compensation Assigned Risk plan, report your claims on the Superior Point website .
• Is there any fee for this service?
  No, it is free for most SFM policyholders to call the SFM Work Injury Hotline. The only exception is policyholders with deductibles over $100,000 that choose to participate.
• What if an injured employee disagrees with the nurse's recommendation?
  It is still up to the employee to decide whether to follow the nurse's advice.