Injured workers in California’s workers’ comp system are more likely to be taking opioids and using them for an extended period of time than their counterparts in 19 other states reviewed by researchers at the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI). The 25-state review, which covers over 70% of the workers’ comp benefits paid in the …
The Division of Workers’ Compensation’s first draft of proposed guidelines for the use of opioids in the workers’ comp system are receiving generally positive responses from the industry as well as some suggestions for improvements. When formally adopted the guidelines are intended to strengthen the Medical Treatment Utilization Schedule (MTUS) and, hopefully, improve safety and …
The overall cost for the pharmaceuticals consumed by injured workers remained relatively flat in 2012 in spite of an uptick in the average cost of the drugs per claimant, according to a new analysis of drug cost trend. The 2.8% increase in the average cost of drugs per injured worker was offset by a 2.7% …
The California workers’ comp community is taking notice of rising use, and what it considers likely abuse, of Schedule II narcotics in treatment of relatively minor industrial injuries, and is working to get a handle on the problem within its individual operations. But anyone expecting to see swift justice against the minority of doctors who …
The California Medical Board contends that opioid restrictions proposed by State Fund could violate its treatment guidelines for pain management and are an “unwarranted intrusion” into the physician-patient relationship. The medical board is California’s regulator in charge of physician discipline. It issued the guidelines in 1994 amid a national debate over physicians’ alleged failure to …
Facing continued pushback and opposition — perhaps an outright revolt — to planned changes in its provider agreements, State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF) is slowing down its timeline for re-contracting its medical provider network (MPN). But the state’s largest carrier and claims payer – wielding the largest and most substantial market power — hasn’t backed …
The California Workers’ Compensation Institute (CWCI) study showing that just 3% of workers’ comp physicians writing prescriptions for opioids account for more than half of all the prescriptions in the system has set tongues wagging. But this prescribing pattern is not limited to just one area of the state, and new data released by industry-funded …
A sharp uptick in the number of prescriptions written for opioid painkillers and other Schedule II medications isn’t relieving California’s workers’ comp systems cost driver headache. What this says about California’s switch to evidence-based medicine may be an unanswered question. Researchers at the California Workers’ Compensation Institute (CWCI) report that during 2007, carriers spent nearly …