Progressive Medical Research on Legislative Impact Finds that Collaboration Needed to Curve Opioid Trend

WESTERVILLE, Ohio, Oct. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- A new white paper from Progressive Medical's SignatureSeries reports that a coordinated approach is needed to effectively solve the issue of opioid misuse and abuse in the workers' compensation industry.

"Collaboration Curves the Opioid Trend" outlines the analysis that was conducted to determine if new state legislation regulating opioid prescribing practices was influencing change in utilization. Kentucky, New York and Tennessee were selected for in-depth evaluation based on abundance and strength of data available.

"We felt the similarity of the legislation between these three states would make for an interesting comparison and would yield actionable insights on the role of legislation," said Brian Allen, vice president of government affairs at Progressive Medical. "We hoped to find significant reductions in quantities prescribed, shorter days' supply provided and fewer claims with opioid prescriptions after 90 days of use."

Progressive Medical pulled data from six months prior and six months after each state's legislation passed. Data was processed as a whole and then again to compare out-of-network against in-network data. The analysis found little to no evidence of change as a result of the legislation. This is likely attributed to the relatively short timeline since enactment, system culture and a multitude of environmental factors such as socioeconomic forces, employers, physician experience and beliefs and others.

"There is no single answer to solve the issue of opioids," said Tron Emptage, the company's chief clinical officer. "Legislation can be a driver for change in behavior, but other elements play a role. No one factor or entity can solve the issue single handedly. Collaboration is essential to serve the industry in its entirety."

View the white paper at http://www.progressive-medical.com/CurvingTheOpioidTrend.

About SignatureSeries
SignatureSeries is a conduit presented by Progressive Medical to share valuable insight on highly relevant topics such as pharmacy trends, regulatory efforts, legislative affairs, clinical innovations and other forces that impact the workers' compensation industry. Conversations, panels and roundtables offered through a multimedia approach using video, webinar and audio mediums as well as white papers and presentations will capture the expertise of the selected industry leaders and key stakeholders. For more information, visit www.progressive-medical.com/SignatureSeries.

About Progressive Medical
Progressive Medical is a workers' compensation PBM whose responsibility is to make a difference. By combining the best aspects of PBM and third-party billing programs with evidence-based clinical programs, advanced clinical analytics, proactive government affairs and operational excellence, the company is accelerating change in the industry and evolving the traditional payor-PBM relationship. Visit www.progressive-medical.com to learn more.

SOURCE Progressive Medical