Opioid Use Decreases
Fewer injured workers are using opioids, according to Conventry Workers’ Comp Services. In their place, physicians are prescribing nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and anticonvulsants.
From 2014 to 2015, opioid use fell 3.2 percent, and opioid prescriptions with a morphine equivalent dose greater than 100 decreased 3.9 percent, Conventry said. (A morphine equivalent dose of 120 or more is considered high.)
Meanwhile, among the managed population, the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs increased 12.9 percent. Also in the managed population, the use of anticonvulsants, which are commonly prescribed to treat chronic pain, increased 6.1 percent from 2014 to 2015. In the previous year, Coventry said anticonvulsant use increased by 4.4 percent.
Source: BusinessInsurance.com