Narcotics Use and Abuse

OxyContin is used to treat moderate to severe pain expected to last for an extended period of time. It has also claimed many a news headline over the years because of the potential for addiction and abuse, as well as the increasing popularity of it being sold on the street.

Recent findings seem to bear out this concern. It turns out that 5.6 percent of all workers' comp claims that resulted in at least one prescription for any medication had included five or more prescriptions for narcotics. About 20 percent of claims had just one prescription for narcotics, and fewer than 2 percent obtained four prescriptions for narcotics.

Knowing all of this, how is it possible for employers and carriers alike to control these costs? It all starts with the doctor that is treating the company's injured employee. In most states, employers have the ability to direct injured employees to a doctor of the employer's choice. The rules governing this vary by state, making it critical for employers to discuss the exact process with their agents.

Directing Care

Once you determine that you have the right to direct care, you have to find the right doctor. Start by searching for a doctor in your area who is board certified in Occupational Medicine. You can search at http://www.acoem.org/. If you can't find one, then search your area for physicians that market services for workers' compensation. Many urgent care clinics, for example, make great partners. Once you find a doctor, talk to them about your business. Discuss your return to work program and the types of transitional work you have available. And talk to them about their attitude toward prescribing narcotics.

Once you find a great doctor, then it becomes a matter of consistently pushing your injured employees to seek care from this physician. The doctor will treat the injured employees quickly and send them back to you with restrictions that you can accommodate to assign transitional duty while they recover.

But what happens if you can't direct care? In most states, even if an employer cannot force an injured employee to see the doctor of your choice, it can still suggest that he or she go to a particular doctor. Saying, “Doctor Bob and ABC Urgent Care has treated many of your co-workers and they've gotten better quickly” can go a long way to encourage an employee to see the physician of your choice.

Choosing the right doctor, one who doesn't dispense drugs in his or her clinic and who only prescribes narcotics when they are absolutely necessary can go a long way to helping your injured employees get back to work quickly and be happy, healthy and productive as swiftly as possible.

When you have a doctor that works with you to get your employees back to work, then you have one of the most powerful tools to control your workers' compensation costs.

Kevin Ring is the director of Community Growth for the Institute of WorkComp Professionals, which trains insurance agents to help employers reduce workers' compensation expenses. A licensed property and casualty insurance agent, he is the co-developer of a new wokers' comp software suite intended to help insurance professionals in working with employers. He may be contacted at 828-274-0959, or [email protected].