Just like the novel coronavirus itself, the emergence of so-called long COVID has surprised both the patients who couldn’t shake their symptoms and the clinicians who have struggled to provide effective treatments. Now, as the U.S. looks to move past the pandemic, there remain unanswered questions about how this fallout from the virus might hamper some workers and for how long. These uncertainties could have important implications for workers’ compensation. By some measures, one in four patients who get COVID-19—even those with mild or asymptomatic cases—will experience subsequent symptoms that range from muscle and nerve pain to breathing difficulties to anxiety and depression. The scope of the challenge will require providers and employers to better understand the nature of the conditions, their origins, and the best paths for treatment. Watch this on-demand webinar to learn more about long COVID and the implications for workers and employers.
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Why Use Antidepressants to Treat Pain?
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.
COVID-19 Update
Mitchell is prioritizing the health and safety of our employees while maintaining commitments to all of our customers and partners.
Topical Medications in Workers' Compensation and Auto Casualty
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.
Mitchell Pharmacy Solutions Responds to COVID-19 National Emergency
Pharmacy protocols in place to respond to emergency declarations.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Workers’ Comp
PTSD typically starts with exposure to a critical incident. In order to meet the definition of PTSD, symptoms must last 30 days or more and disrupts normal life pursuits. It results from violation of expectations, deeply held beliefs, core beliefs such as belief in a just and fair world, need to trust others, self-esteem-self efficacy, and need for predictable and safe world.
The Realization of Claims Virtualization
Five years ago, if someone mentioned “claims virtualization,” it most likely referred to an insurance carrier’s mobile application, or possibly just conjured visions of VR goggles used for high-tech simulations. These days however, the idea of virtual claims handling, or as Lexis Nexis1 defines it, “photo or video estimating in which no insurance employee physically inspects the vehicle,” has firmly taken hold with touchpoints from First Notice of Loss to Total Loss and all points in between.