WorkComp Central published a new report,“We’re Beating Back Opioids — Now What?” this past June, by Peter Rousmaniere in cooperation with CompPharma. It narrates a 20-year story and poses some provocative recommendations, noting that we are at a turning point in treating chronic pain though the statistics remain daunting. Every workday, some 5,000 workers sustain injuries which disable them for at least a week; on any given day in the U.S. 500,000 injured workers are treated for chronic pain. The majority of treatments includes opioids, and for individuals with chronic pain, care and wage replacement can reach $1,000,000 in cost per claim.

Per the study’s author: “This report does two things. First, it chronicles the two decade-long story of how opioid use greatly expanded in workers’ comp, then halted and began to retreat in the face of fierce criticism. Workers’ comp professionals can use this story to tell their friends about a war they still are fighting.”

Rousmanier also credits several organizations in the detection and reporting on trends and solutions. They include the California Workers’ Compensation Institute, CompPharma, the National Council for Compensation Insurance, Washington State, and the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute. Read more…