The Workers Compensation Research Institute has released a vast pharmaceutical study that covers trends in 27 states.
One of the authors is Dr. Vennela Thumula. I have had the pleasure of speaking with her at length concerning some of the studies at the yearly WCRI conference.
Pharmacy benefit management remains a hot topic in the workers' comp arena over the last 10 years, with costs spiraling out of control. The opioid epidemic reached far into work comp medical cost considerations.
From WCRI:
Workers’ compensation prescription drug payments per medical claim decreased by 15% or more in 25 of 27 study states over a three-year period from the first quarters of 2015 to 2018.
That equates to a massive reduction in pharmacy spend from in the three-year period covered by the study. A 15% reduction was tabulated in approximately 93% of the states covered by WCRI.
Findings from WCRI:
One negative outcome would be the decrease in NSAIDs, which have shown to be just as effective as opioids in pain reduction.
The 27 states in the study are Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.
To learn more about this pharmaceutical study or to purchase a copy, click here.
This blog post is provided by James Moore, AIC, MBA, ChFC, ARM, and is republished with permission from J&L Risk Management Consultants. Visit the full website at www.cutcompcosts.com.
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