Drug costs continue to grow as a significant portion of the work comp spend. Kevin Glennon, vice president of clinical services at Total Medical Solutions, often lectures on the importance of taking precautions in regards to drugs and work comp, particularly on complex claims. Why? Because there is a greater risk for the claim and the costs to spiral out of control.
What to do? Kevin suggests:
- regular, periodic re-evaluation of drugs prescribed
- watch for contraindications
- consult with the prescribing physician(s) to determine future needs and adjustments
- set up a tracking system to monitor use of prescribed drugs
- is the patient obese? pursue options for weight loss to improve outcomes and for a significant reduction of costs spent on drugs
Some recent alerts from the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on certain drugs:
FDA Limits Acetaminophen (Tylenol) Usage, Warns of Liver Toxicity
Watch this video about acetaminophen:
Kevin says:watch out for new drug Abstral (fentanyl) , FDA just approved for breakthrough cancer pain. He warns of history with other opioid analgesics such as Oxycontin and Actiq.
FDA Warns of Potential Liver Damage with use of dronedarone (Multaq) used for patients with abnormal heart rythym or risk of heart failure.
Another area to watch is physician dispensing of drugs -- it is a fast-growing trend in work comp. Joe Paduda covers this topic often on his blog. Read his recent post titled: Physician dispensing in work comp - worse than you think. He includes reference to a new study just out by NCCI on the topic. Be sure to read his follow up post and bookmark for future coverage of this topic.






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