In workers’ comp pharmacy management, opioids often get the lion’s share of attention, and for good reason. Continue reading.
In a drug safety communication from FDA Medwatch, the FDA warns about serious breathing difficulties related to the use of gabapentinoid (GabaP) medications in patients with other respiratory risk factors.1
2019 ended with average wholesale prices dropping for the seventh month in a row. Though some of this decline reflects seasonal patterns, it may also be indicative of used vehicle market “fatigue” after many months of admirably withstanding used vehicle supply growth without significant deterioration in values.
Average Length of Rental (LOR) for Q4 2019 landed at 13.1 days in the United States, an increase of 0.4 days compared to Q4 2018. Once again, there was very little consistency between regions and states or with Q3’s numbers. The Southwest region produced the largest increase at 0.8 days with average LOR ranging from a high of 14.5 days in the Mountain region to a low of 11.7 in the Pacific. At the state level, Rhode Island, Colorado and Wyoming were the high-end outliers at 16.1, 15.7 and 14.9 days, respectively, while North Dakota and Iowa produced the lowest numbers with both at 10.5 days.
Electric Vehicle (EV) sales did not continue the fast-paced growth seen in 2018 with the release of Tesla’s Model 3, but expert and consumer sentiments are pointing toward a bright near-term future for this industry-disrupting segment. Deloitte’s recently released 2020 Global Automotive Consumer Study shows that of the US consumers surveyed, 41% would prefer an alternative energy (non-internal combustion engine or ICE) vehicle for their next purchase.1 This figure is up from 29% in 2019 and 20% in 2018.
Motor vehicle accidents led to more than 2.5 million emergency department visits in 2017, according to the CDC’s most recent estimates. Emergency room and other hospital visits can be costly for insurance carriers, as facility charges are some of the highest fees that carriers face when paying for medical treatments related to auto accidents.
This article is authored by guest blogger, Mariellen Blue, National Director of Case Management, Genex Services. Workers’ compensation professionals are seeing delayed recovery as an increased challenge in claims—as injured employees may not be progressing along a medically reasonable and expected time frame. However, it can be difficult to pinpoint exactly why the delay is occurring in order to address the issue.