KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Steady in the Current: Empathy, Generations, & Leadership in Workers’ Compensation
Dr. Claire Muselman –  CM Advising

Like a river, workers’ compensation includes moments of calm and moments of rapid change. Generational differences influence how individuals interpret stress, authority, and systems navigation, especially during injury. In this keynote, Dr. Claire Muselman explores how empathy functions as a leadership skill that stabilizes outcomes across Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z. Participants examine neurological stress responses, generational communication preferences, and the hidden assumptions that can create friction in claims. The session blends behavioral science, practical scripting, and real-world workers’ compensation application to help attendees lead with steadiness in complex situations. The result is a system that feels human while performing at a high operational level.

BREAK OUT SESSIONS

Pain Without Pills: The New Era of Prevention & Recovery Techniques
Dr. Marcos A Iglesias – AF GroupMichelle Despres – National Educator & Consultant

Chronic pain affects more than one in five adults, with millions experiencing daily limitations from high‑impact pain. As the nation continues to confront the opioid crisis, evidence-based, non‑pharmacological treatments have never been more essential. This session explores the latest medical and physical therapy approaches that reduce pain, restore function, and improve quality of life. Join us to learn practical, proven strategies shaping the future of pain management.

Recent ISB Discipline Cases
Joseph N. Pirtle – Idaho State Bar

Idaho State Bar Counsel Joe Pirtle will discuss recent cases imposing public sanctions. The presentation will address the facts and violations of the Idaho Rule of Professional Conduct at issue in each case.

Medicare Mayhem! Tackling New CMS Updates to Stay Compliant, Reduce Risk, and Settle Claims
Mark Popolizio – Verisk Casualty Solutions

Insurers face several new, and significant, Medicare compliance challenges.  Section 111 penalties are finally live – with potential fines of up to $1,512 per day.  CMS’s new TPOC/WCMSA reporting requirements now give Medicare visibility into a self-insurer’s WCMSA practices – with CMS reserving the right to audit and bring False Claims Act claims. Meanwhile, CMS conditional payments, Treasury claims, and Medicare Advantage “double damages” lawsuits continue to present headaches for all insurance lines.  Don’t despair! This session will help make sense of the madness with practical compliance strategies, including how claims data can be used to improve your best practice protocols!

What Workers’ Compensation Providers Need to Know About Lifestyle Medicine
Dr. Jennifer T. Shalz – Lifestyle Medicine St. Luke’s Health System
Dr. Todd Hastings – Occupational Health St. Luke’s Health System

This session will introduce workers’ compensation physicians to evidence-based lifestyle medicine interventions that can accelerate recovery, reduce chronic pain, and improve return-to-work outcomes for injured workers. Participants will learn how targeted modifications in nutrition, physical activity, sleep, and stress management can address the underlying factors that delay healing and contribute to disability. The lecture will provide practical, implementable strategies for integrating lifestyle prescriptions into workers’ compensation cases, with a focus on musculoskeletal injuries, chronic pain syndromes, and metabolic conditions that complicate recovery. Attendees will leave with actionable tools to enhance patient outcomes while potentially reducing long-term treatment costs and disability duration.

Evidence-Based Spine Care in Workers’ Compensation: Avoiding Delays, Missteps, and Unnecessary Treatment
Dr. Justin Dazley – Magic Valley Orthopedics

This presentation will provide a practical, evidence-based framework for managing common spine conditions in workers’ compensation patients. Emphasis will be placed on early decision-making, appropriate imaging, and identifying which patients benefit from conservative care versus procedural or surgical intervention. Attendees will learn to recognize common causes of delayed recovery, unnecessary treatment, and prolonged disability, with strategies to improve outcomes and reduce costs. Real-world case examples—including the management of spine fractures—will illustrate how to streamline care and optimize return-to-function.

NCCI Workers Compensation Research: Idaho and the Western Region
Todd Johnson – National Council on Compensation Insurance

Join NCCI to discuss recent Thought Leadership and how it may impact Idaho’s workers compensation system.  These include emerging trends in workplace violence, demographic forces shaping workplace risk and claim exposures, and legislative developments across the western U.S.

Educate – Engage – Or Pay the Price!
Brian Allen – Optimized Outcome Solutions, LLC
Nathan Quarry – Retired Mixed Martial Arts Fighter and Patient Advocate

When first asked “what is the ROI” on patient education and engagement – we were baffled. We had no answer. Five years later there is extensive research and our own experience on the value of education and engagement based on the four pillars of recovery – mindset, nutrition, physical activity and rest. Former MMA fighter, Nathan “Rock” Quarry and Brian Allen discuss how the four pillars helped Nathan recover from back surgery and return to work – the ring – and how that experience turned Nathan into a patient advocate! Educating, engaging and optimizing will improve claim outcomes and reduce costs. The numbers may surprise you!

The Right AI Doesn’t Just Make Claims Professionals Faster, It Makes Them Better
Mark Tainton – Wisedocs

Workers’ compensation is one of the most document-intensive lines in insurance, and the volume and complexity of medical records is the core problem AI is being asked to solve. AI is delivering real value across the claims lifecycle, but when AI-generated content becomes the only document decision-makers review, defensibility becomes the central question for adjusters, attorneys, and TPAs alike. As nuclear verdicts and social inflation reshape exposure, auditable documentation that withstands discovery scrutiny is no longer optional. With an aging claims workforce and institutional knowledge walking out the door, the organizations gaining the most ground are those using AI to process and summarize complex medical records, surface key risks and insights, and free professionals to focus on the decisions that require their expertise.

People Helping People: The Value of Human Interaction in an Increasingly Automated World
Josh Schuette – Brooks Rehabilitation

In an age where AI and automation are rapidly advancing, the human element in workers’ compensation remains essential. This presentation highlights the issue of burnout on both the clinical and work comp sides and explores how focusing on helping injured workers directly can reconnect us with our ‘why.’ It emphasizes keeping the injured worker at the center of the process and features powerful case studies that demonstrate the transformative power of compassionate, people-focused care. Attendees will hear the story of a worker who overcame paralysis to walk again, return to full duty, and pursue a career as a motivational speaker, as well as the journey of an amputee inspired by the care he received, leading him to change careers and serve injured workers as a medical practitioner. These stories show what workers’ compensation is fundamentally about people helping people.

CASE LAW REVIEW

Claimant Attorney: Matthew Vook – Peterson, Parkinson, & Arnold, PLLC
Defense Attorney: Matthew Pappas – Anderson, Julian & Hull, LLP

Matt and Matt have scoured the recent case law and will summarize recent developments in Idaho workers’ compensation. They will entertain you with the most significant decisions, offering perspective from both sides of the aisle.