Austin, TX – Phil LeFevre, senior vice president of the Work Loss Data Institute, publisher of ODG, will present a free webinar, “ODG Analysis on Proposed California Formulary and MTUS Updates” today, September 14 at 2 p.m. Eastern. The high-level discussion will address questions WLDI has fielded since the California Division of Workers Compensation posted its proposed formulary for public comment.
“It’s important for stakeholders to understand that this is neither ODG’s formulary nor the new ACOEM formulary marketed by Reed Group,” LeFevre said.
Some stakeholders consider the proposed formulary too restrictive, requiring preauthorization on 73 percent of the prescriptions written. Injured workers might have to wait for medication, and utilization review and independent medical review could increase.
Another concern is operationalizing the MTUS formulary, which is not tied to National Drug Codes that are used to process prescriptions. “There are no user interfaces, no integration with existing systems, no search/query tools and it is not electronically linked to evidence-based guidelines or supporting medical studies,” he said.
The California formulary must be consistent with MTUS, which combines guidelines mainly from ACOEM and some from ODG. “The logic that California must create a formulary that aligns with its outdated MTUS is flawed,” LeFevre said. “This is a chance to fix MTUS.”
The webinar is designed to help providers, payers and other stakeholders understand the nuances behind the proposed formulary and provide informed comments to DWC.
To attend, click here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7275845950678910468.
Contact the ODG Helpdesk at ODG@worklossdata.com, 800-488-5548 with any technical questions.
Draft regulations and the RAND report commissioned by DWC are available here. Comments can be submitted to DWCForums@dir.ca.gov through September 16.
Source: ODG