The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) has released the latest version of its annual look at prescription drug prices and workers' compensation. The "Workers Compensation Prescription Drug Study: 2011 Update" offers information on the countrywide share of workers' compensation medical costs due to prescription drugs and the impact of price and utilization changes on those costs.

Key findings from the 2011 report include:

• Medical costs per claim average more than $6,000 and soar to nearly $25,000 for lost-time claims
• The indicated prescription share of total medical is 19 percent, slightly higher than the estimate given in the 2010 update
• OxyContin was the most prescribed workers' compensation drug in service year 2009. Lidoderm was second.
• Hydrocodone-Acetaminophen dropped from the top workers' compensation drug in service year 2008 to number three in service year 2009
• Per-claim prescription costs grew by 12 percent in service year 2009
• Recent overall cost increases are driven more by utilization increases than by price increases.

Physician dispensing continues to be a topic of national debate, with the practice increasing in almost every state. A previous NCCI study found that the share of workers' compensation prescription costs associated with physician dispensing, which had been very stable, increased dramatically in service year 2008 and again in service year 2009. In this latest report, NCCI found that of the locations studied, 30 states (including Washington, D.C.), have physician-dispensed shares over 15.5 percent, seven states have physician-dispensed shares between 10.5 and 15.5 percent, and nine states have physician-dispensed shares below 10.5 percent.

The data used in the study is for medical services provided between 1996 and 2009 on both lost-time and medical-only claims that occurred between 1994 and 2009, evaluated as of July 1, 2010.