January 22, 2010
Did you know...?
Narcotics account for nearly one quarter of all workers' compensation prescription drug costs
Narcotics, a persistent
component of workers' compensation claims, account for nearly one quarter of
all workers' compensation prescription drug costs in
So-called "Schedule II" opioid drugs, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, fentanyl and morphine, are being prescribed mostly for back injuries in workers' comp claims. The number of such prescriptions in the first year after an accident is on the rise and payments for such drugs increase the longer a claim continues, states the NCCI research brief. The report reviewed a sample of claims for services provided from 1996 to 2007, the latest data available.
Among adverse events associated with opioid pain relievers are depression of the respiratory system, central nervous system depression, addiction and death. Such problems often are associated with improper dosing, abuse and addiction, said the report, quoting statements by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Narcotics have accounted for about 25% of all workers' comp prescription costs since 1999. More than 44% of dollars paid and 32% of prescriptions written for narcotics are for claims involving back injuries.
A closer look at the 2007
service year showed that oxycodone, marketed under the brand name OxyContin,
represented the largest share of narcotics costs, at 37.4%. That was
followed by hydrocodone at 23% and fentanyl, which includes one of the most
expensive drugs — Duragesic, a narcotic pain patch, at 11.8%.
Based on the active ingredients, drugs with hydrocodone represented 57.6% of
the narcotics prescribed in 2007, oxycodone accounted for 21.3%, propoxyphene was at 8.6%, morphine at 3.3% and codeine at
3.1% of the total.
And high-cost prescriptions — those costing more than $75 per prescription —
account for 9% of narcotic prescriptions in the first year of a worker injury,
but steadily increase to 45% of all narcotic prescriptions in the 12th year for
long-term claims.
Regional differences appear in the data, with
Key Findings of the report include:
- Narcotics
account for nearly one quarter of all workers compensation Rx costs
- The
narcotics share of drug costs increases as claims age
- Narcotics
costs per claim vary by state with apparent regional differences
- Narcotics
are used mostly for back injuries in workers compensation
- Narcotics
use early in the life of claims is increasing
- Narcotics
use can persist for many years
- Heavy
narcotics use for workers compensation injuries is related to
substance-abuse treatments
To
review the full NCCI report, Narcotics In Workers'
Compensation, visit the NCCI webpage at: http://www.ncci.com/.
(https://www.ncci.com/documents/Narcotics_in_WC_1209.pdf)
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