San Diego, CA – Enlyte recently released the fourth portion of its Pharmacy Solutions Drug Trends Series Report, which analyzes the state of pharmacy trends in workers’ comp.
In part four of the series, Enlyte explores trends in “High Impact Classes” including drug categories like topicals, compound kits, combo packs, and specialty medications, which represent proportionately low utilization, but can be associated with exponentially higher costs.
Key highlights included:
- Topical and specialty classes accounted for a higher percentage of total cost in 2022. While usage of opioids and compounds continues to decrease, topicals and specialty medications accounted for a slightly larger share in 2022.
- In 2022, the number of injured employees using topical medications rose 10.3% to 18.2%. This trend, combined with overall increases in topical scripts and costs, revealed a continued rising trend experienced over the last four years.
- A decrease in Private Label Topical Analgesic (PLTA) cost per script in 2022 was offset by increases in scripts per
claim, leading to an overall rise of cost per claim similar to the prescription topical category, which experienced both increasing utilization and cost per script in 2022. - Combo packs experienced a significant jump in cost per script in 2022, averaging $1,600. This reflects the impact that inflated costs associated with co-packaged products (otherwise sold individually at a fraction of the cost) can have on overall claim cost, even as utilization per claim drops. Such exorbitant pricing practices highlight the importance of continued vigilance regardless of the relatively small volume of total scripts they represent.
- 4 of the top 5 specialty disease conditions by cost had double-digit increases in cost per claim from 2021-2022. Specialty drugs are being used for 2.7% of all claims, typically used to manage complex, chronic conditions with significant costs.
Read the free report: Enlyte Pharmacy Solutions Drug Trends Series Report, Part 4
Source: Enlyte
Disclosure:
Enlyte is a WorkCompWire ad partner.
This is NOT a paid placement.