Topical creams are becoming part of the mix of pain treatment options as doctors look for alternatives to addictive opioids.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues worldwide, our daily lives have changed significantly. Due to new governmental regulations and guidelines to help curb the spread of the virus, many people are working from home, practicing social distancing, sheltering in place and unfortunately, many people have already lost their jobs. As we grapple with how the virus has impacted our daily lives, we are also taking a closer look at how the pandemic and related regulations are already, and will continue to, affect the workers’ compensation and auto casualty industries.
Recent updates adopted by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries to its workers' compensation drug formulary.
Updates to drug formulary adopted under emergency rulemaking by the New York State Workers' Compensation Board.
Why use antidepressants to treat pain? The nation’s focus on the ongoing opioid epidemic and stricter guidelines on opioid prescribing has led to an increased utilization of non-opioid pain treatments in workers’ compensation. In a previous blog post, we looked at the use of anticonvulsants to treat pain because of their ability to create effective pain relief without the cravings, tolerance, or addiction issues that are typically associated with narcotics. Another therapeutic class commonly used to treat chronic pain is antidepressants, which may even be prescribed when depression is not a diagnosed condition for the injured worker.
Mitchell is prioritizing the health and safety of our employees while maintaining commitments to all of our customers and partners.
This article is part of our ongoing Quarterly Drug Update series. View our last article on gabapentinoids. Topical medications are an important part of care in the workers’ compensation and auto casualty industries, providing relief for patients in pain. In the past few years, the variety of available topical medications has increased, which has also driven up the number of prescriptions, particularly for new analgesic and local anesthetic drugs. While this variety allows for greater choice, many of the new branded medications are very expensive.