Today’s issue of WorkCompRecap features Express Scripts’ recent release of its 2014 Workers’ Compensation Drug Trend Report, which found that workers’ comp pharmacy spending increased by just under 2% in 2014, as a 5.4% decrease in utilization helped offset a 7% increase in cost per prescription.
Express Scripts noted that utilization management programs helped drive down opioid utilization nearly 11% in 2014, tempering an 11.5% bump in average cost per prescription. Another major influence on drug trend were compounded products, which for the second year in a row were among the most costly. The report noted unsustainable pricing increases played a big part, with pharmacies that compound the majority of their products increasing prices by 51.5% in 2014.
Find out more (including a link to the free report!) by clicking here!