PMSI Reports Decline in Narcotics, Increase in Generics Among Pharmacy Trends in New Report

Tampa, FL (WorkersCompensation.com) – PMSI, one of the nation's largest providers of specialty products, services and clinical services for the workers' compensation industry, announced today the release of its sixth Annual Drug Trends Report, which analyzes workers' compensation pharmacy trends and metrics from millions of its retail and mail order transactions. Of particular importance, narcotic utilization per injured worker decreased 3.2% in 2012, and among injured workers receiving narcotics within the first year of injury, the use of narcotics declined 7%.

The decrease in early narcotic use for the treatment of work-related injuries has been a continuing trend for PMSI's customers. When appropriate, PMSI's programs promote the use of generic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and muscle relaxants as viable alternatives to narcotic analgesics for the treatment of pain in the acute injury phase.  In 2012, there was a marked increase in the use of these drugs.  PMSI also notes a decrease in the use of dermatologic agents in the early treatment of injuries—reversing a trend from previous years.

The 2013 report examines the factors that influence pharmacy spend, the changes in utilization across drug classes, and industry challenges such as physician dispensing, compounding, and narcotics utilization. Pharmacy metrics included in the report detail the changes in spend and utilization for the top ten drug classes, the impact of generic medications on prescription price, and the top drugs by spend and utilization.

“PMSI's report is an analysis of over 5.7 million retail and mail order transactions from 2010 - 2012,” stated Mitch Freeman, PMSI's Chief Sales and Marketing Officer. “The trends reported provide valuable insight into the workers' compensation industry and are a testament to the effectiveness of PMSI's programs.”

PMSI's clinical and pharmacy experts will deliver a free webinar on the findings in this year's report on May 22^nd. Visit www.pmsionline.com/Drug-Trends to view an electronic version of the report, request a printed copy, or register for the upcoming webinar.

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