In an excellent article called Chronic Pain In-Depth Series written by Peter Rousmaniere, workers' comp expert and columnist for Risk and Insurance, Peter points out that while chronic pain claims account for only 5% of lost-time claims, the costs of those claims equal 30% of all lost-time payments in the first year alone. Pain management is a huge issue in America, impacting all aspects of our healthcare system. Many workers' comp experts have researched and written extensively on the issue, including:
Read Chronic pain management in workers' comp plus an archived article titled Workers' Comp Drugs: Paying Too Much...for the Wrong Medicines by Workerscompinsider.com
Joe Paduda writes on pharmacy issues frequently. His blog post Washington's smart policy on opioids highlights how one state decided to manage the issue of chronic pain management.
We have also addressed issues involving pain management in earlier posts including Oxycontin Reformulation and Compounding Fraud.
If you manage workers' compensation claims, partner with a company like Total Medical Solutions who can provide you with the clinical expertise and oversight needed to ensure your claims are on the right track. A good workers' compensation complex care partner will help you develop a plan for your chronic pain claims and can help you identify claims that should be montiored closely so that they don't spiral out of control.
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