• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • WCW HOME
  • Submit a Wire!
  • Advertising
  • Media Partners
  • About
  • Contact Us

WorkCompWire

Your Trusted Source for Workers Compensation News

Enlyte
  • Workers Compensation News
    • Workers Compensation Industry News
    • Association, Rating & Research News
    • Claims, Legal, & Compliance News
    • Legislative & Regulatory News
    • Risk Management News
    • Work Force & Human Resource News
  • Featured Articles
  • Leaders Speak
  • Editor’s Forum
  • People On The Move

SFM Employees Hear from Expert on Opioid Epidemic

October 18, 2016 - WorkCompWire

Bloomington, MN – A Minnesota physician who is helping to lead the charge against the epidemic of opioid addiction both locally and nationally spoke at SFM’s all-employee meeting on Wednesday, October 12.

Dr. Chris Johnson, M.D. talked about the rise and extent of the crisis, and how insurers can work together with medical providers and government officials to turn it around.

Johnson chairs the Minnesota Department of Human Services Opioid Prescribing Workgroup, serves on the board of directors for Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing. He practiced full-time emergency medicine at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, for 12 years and currently works in the Allina Urgent Care System.

From 2000-2014, more than 189,000 Americans died from accidental opiate prescription overdoses, Johnson said, citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

He explained that overdose deaths are just the tip of the “iceberg of misery” stating that for every overdose death, there are many more people visiting emergency rooms, abusing the drugs, or going through drug treatment programs to break their dependency.

While evidence mounts against prescribing the drugs for non-terminal patients with non-acute pain, hospitals and physicians still face pressure to do so due to licensure requirements, patient satisfaction ratings and limited time with patients, he said. For that reason, Johnson said he believes the healthcare industry alone cannot reverse the opioid painkiller abuse epidemic. He called on regulators, politicians and insurers to use their power to help.

SFM has been proactively working with physicians since 2014 to wean claimants off opioid painkillers. The company has been successful helping 34 percent of claimants taking opioids discontinue use, and has seen a 39 percent decrease in claimants taking more than 120 milligrams morphine equivalent dosage (MED) per day from 2015 to 2016.

“Many claimants have thanked us for helping them get their lives back by freeing them of their dependency on opioid painkillers,” said SFM Director of Medical Services Ceil Jung. “We’re not just doing this for cost savings, we’re doing this because it’s the right thing to do to help people have a high quality of life.”

Source: SFM Mutual

Filed Under: Industry News, Top Stories, Work Force & Human Resource News, Workers' Compensation

Primary Sidebar

Get Our Free Newsletter:

Select list(s) to subscribe to


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: WorkCompWire.com, PO Box 1114, Culver City, CA, 90232, http://www.workcompwire.com. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact

myMatrixx

Paradigm

MSQ

Follow Us on Twitter

Tweets by WorkCompWire

Workers Compensation News Topics

  • Top Stories
  • Featured Articles
  • Leaders Speak
  • Editor’s Forum
  • The RxProfessor
  • Industry News
  • Association, Rating & Research News
  • People On The Move
  • Claims, Legal, & Compliance News
  • Legislative & Regulatory News
  • Risk Management News
  • Work Force & Human Resource News
  • Workers’ Compensation

Wire Archives

Copyright WorkCompWire © 2023