Dive Brief:
- Eighty percent of Indiana employers have been impacted by prescription drug misuse and abuse, including opioid painkillers, in their workplaces, according to a survey by the National Safety Council and the Indiana Attorney General's Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force.
- The survey, the first of its kind in the nation, found nearly two-thirds (64%) of employers believe prescription drugs such as Vicodin, OxyContin and Percocet are bigger problems than illegal drugs.
- Also, National Public Radio reports that a majority of workers' compensation claims involve pain medications, including opoids.
Dive Insight:
The National Safety Council poll, which surveyed more than 200 employers, was conducted first in Indiana, but it will be used as a model for other states interested in addressing prescription drug abuse in the workplace. It was done in the midst of the state's prescription drug abuse epidemic, as drug poisonings, largely from opioid painkillers, have increased fivefold in Indiana since 1999 and now eclipse car crashes as the leading cause of injury death among adults, according to the NSC.
Deborah A.P. Hersman, the NSC's president and CEO said the survey shows the importance of employers understanding that the most fatally abused drug today may be sitting in their employees' medicine cabinets.
To help protect workers, the Council recommends employers expand drug testing to include detection of opioid painkillers, train employees and supervisors on how to spot signs of misuse and leverage Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) to help employees return to work following treatment for addiction.
