Opioids Still the Top Prescribed Drug in California

Using data derived from the 10.8 million workers comp prescriptions dispensed between January 2005 and December 2014, a recently released report by the California Workers’ Compensation Institute identified opioids as the number one prescribed drug in California’s workers’ compensation system.

Report findings indicate that opioid prescriptions accounted for 27.2% of total prescribed pharmaceuticals. In addition, the average cost of opioid prescriptions rose by 85% from $61 to $113. In comparison, other prescription drugs within the same time frame experienced only a 39% increase, from $94 to $131. The report also indicated the proportion of injured workers prescribed opioids within the first 24 months following injury increased from 22.4% in 2005, to 27.9% in 2010.

Some positive trends were revealed however - in 2014, opioids dispensed to injured workers in the state dropped to 27.2%, from a 2009 peak of 31.9%. Also, the impending implementation of a statewide formulary is expected to contribute to reduced opioid use.

At the end of the day however, opioid use is still excessive. While prescription drug monitoring programs have been a focus of California state regulators, other California Workers’ Compensation Institute studies of utilization review have shown that medical management resources in California have been disproportionately directed to the review of requests for opioids and pain management drugs.

In workers’ compensation pain management, opioids continue to be prescribed in situations where their use may not be entirely appropriate, increasing the patient’s risk of addiction or overdose. ANS’s pharmacotherapy review program has been highly successful in uncovering overprescribing and ineffective management of patient treatment plans not just in California but across the country. The work of our legal nurse experts lays the ground work for pain treatment regimens that reduce the financial costs of large loss claims, while improving quality of care and life for injured workers.

To learn more about are success rate in California, contact ANS Solutions today.

This content was originally posted at http://ans-solutions.com/opioids-still-the-top-prescribed-drug-in-california/

Sources:

Hayes, Steve, Swedlow, Alex. “California Workers’ Compensation Institute: Trends in The USE of Opioids in California’s Workers’ Compensation System,” May 2016.

Putting the Injured Worker First

In the workman’s comp industry, significant effort is put toward breaking the pharmaceutical cost cycle for Payers. As the industry fights for savings, however, injured workers often get lost in the shuffle. The nameless and faceless many among worker’s comp injury statistics are quite removed from the system they rely upon.

Bottom Line Statistics Means Poor Outcomes for Injured Workers

As political pundits fight for special interests, benefit caps are set with no relation to each state’s average weekly wage, ignoring improved wage data and analytical methods that could mend take-home benefits in favor of maintaining the status quo. In addition, research undertaken by the worker’s comp industry often passes over the injured workers themselves, focusing on bottom-line statistics. Typical drug utilization review programs further compound this focus, overlooking patient and prescriber history and offering little to no treatment compliance monitoring, thus yielding poor outcomes for all parties involved.

There is a silver lining however, organizations such as the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI), the California Workers’ Compensation Institute, and the National Council for Compensation Insurance are attempting to remove the industry’s blinders with improved studies centered on cost containment and service delivery, offering evidence based data on medications, surgeries and providers in an effort to improve care for patients while curtailing costs.

Ensuring the Best Possible Outcomes

ANS’s Pharmacotherapy Review offers more than clinically-proven drug alternatives that reduce Payers’ costs. Our three pronged approach to claim management is much more comprehensive than the industry standard drug utilization review. Improving the quality of life and care of the injured worker is a driving force behind the development of our proprietary pharmacotherapy review program.

• Focusing on the well-being of the injured worker.
• Consolidating and coordinating drug therapies by multiple prescribers to uncover unnecessary or duplicate treatments.
• Providing alternate therapies with less associated risk factors.
• Uncovering potential risk addiction behaviors.
• Offering weaning programs to help combat the over-prescription of narcotics (opioids).

Embrace change for the betterment of all. Find out more about our innovative drug utilization program today by visiting www.ans-solutions.com.

This content was originally posted at http://ans-solutions.com/putting-the-injured-worker-first/