Today’s issue of WorkCompRecap features CWCI’s release of a new analysis of trends in prescriptions and payments in California over the past decade using data on 5.85 million prescriptions dispensed to injured workers.
Key findings included that NSAIDs now account for more than 1/3 of all drugs dispensed to injured workers in California, which is triple the proportion for opioids. The study also found that while most NSAIDs used are inexpensive, and utilization has been flat since the state’s drug formulary took effect in 2018, NSAIDs’ share of the total drug spend has soared from 14.2% to 23.5%, largely driven by increased payments for two low-volume, high-priced drugs that are exempt from prospective utilization review (UR) and that lack price controls.