The misuse of and addiction to opioids—including prescription pain relievers, heroin, and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl is a serious national crisis that affects public health as well as social and economic welfare. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the total "economic burden" of prescription opioid misuse alone in the United States is $78.5 billion a year, including the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement.
The California Workers' Compensation system has recognized the problem, and provided tools for attorneys and claims administrators to manage the use of addictive medications.
One tool, the CURES or California Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System is a database that shows a patient's history of use of Schedule II, III and IV medications. The California Legislature mandated that all prescribing physicians consult this database before prescribing these drugs for the first time, and periodically thereafter.
In addition, the DWC has adopted a new Chronic Pain Guideline and prescription drug formulary as part of the Medical Treatment Utilization Schedule.
This course will discuss these new tools and how they can be used in the management of claims involving opioid medications.