Since the introduction of its Early Severity Predictor model in2015, Travelers Cos. says it cut the use of opioidsby over 500,000 injured employees by 30%.
|Related: Travelers focuses on chronic pain, opioiduse
|The model identifies the likelihood that someone will developchronic pain — a leading cause of opioid dependency. Travelersshares the Early Severity Predictor results with theinjured employee's physician, allowing them to identify effectivetreatment alternatives such as physical therapy, and in some casessurgery is avoided to help ensure a safe recovery without theprolonged use of opioids.
|Drop in cases
Since January 2016, surgeries for Travelers' workers'compensation cases have fallen by 25%, and those who receivedalternative treatment methods recovered and returned to work 10%faster than those who did not.
|Related: Non-opioid treatment alternatives
|“Surgical procedures used to correct common workplace injuriesare oftentimes followed by an opioid prescription for pain,” saidDr. Adam Seidner, global medical director at Travelers, who is alsoan addiction specialist. “Physical therapy and other treatmentslimit the employee's exposure to opioids and often produce betterlong-term medical outcomes.”
|Reduced medical expenses
Travelers has helped employers reduce medical expenses onidentified claims by up to 50% since it implemented the EarlySeverity Predictor model. The company typically handlesapproximately 250,000 workers' compensation claims each year.
|Travelers also says its in-house pharmacy management program hasalso contributed to the results. The company's claim professionalsuse detailed information gained from training with on-staffpharmacists to assess the merits of requests for pharmaceuticalpayments and identify the potential for overusing opioids anddangerous drug interactions.
|Related: Tackling the opioid epidemic
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