NEW PHARMACEUTICAL GUIDELINES FOR NARCOTICS AND OTHER DRUGS ADDED TO ODG
TREATMENT IN WORKERS’ COMP
October 11, 2006 –Work
Loss Data Institute (WLDI) announces the addition of extensive
evidence-based pharmaceutical recommendations to
Official Disability
Guidelines Treatment in Workers’ Comp
(ODG Treatment). The new information, as with all ODG updates, is available
immediately to online subscribers. It will also be included in the 2007
print version of ODG Treatment, due out in January 2007.
The addition of pharmaceutical guidelines to ODG
comes at a very important time due to the rising use, cost and variety of
pharmaceuticals. According to Steve Nichols, Manager of Workers'
Compensation Services for the Insurance Council of Texas, “Pharmaceuticals
are a key cost driver in the workers’ compensation system, making up more
than 10 percent of all costs.”
The pharmaceutical
treatment summaries, and in particular, those for chronic pain, give
suggested steps for improving pharmaceutical management. These guides
emphasize not only the use of narcotics, but also other adjunct medication
agents that are currently available. In addition they give guides as to how
to recognize the signs of dependency and/or misuse of medications, and how
to address these issues when they occur.
The detailed
pharmaceutical recommendations are presented in the Procedure Summary of the
Pain Chapter, as well as in specific body part chapters, and their related
Treatment Protocols. The guides currently address the following: 1) the use
of opioids in general, and detailed descriptions of specific opioids; 2) the
use of other non-narcotic pain medications, including safety issues; 3) the
use of anti-depressants and anti-convulsants for pain; and 4) the use of
implantable pain treatment systems. New summaries indicate when weaning of
medications may be required, current suggestions for this process and when
to obtain professional help of an addiction specialist.
As with all the treatments in the ODG database, this
topic will be kept up-to-date with new studies and technologies as they
develop.
The complete ODG
Treatment database provides evidence-based duration data, treatment
protocols, procedure summaries, workers’ comp costs, and benchmarking data
to satisfy the information needs of those involved in return-to-work:
providers, insurers, employers, case managers, claims managers, and
adjusters.
The following is a sampling of pharmaceutical topics now represented in the
Procedure Summary of the Pain Chapter ODG Treatment:
Acetaminophen; Actiq®; Anticonvulsants for chronic
pain; Antidepressants for chronic pain; Antidepressants for neuropathic
pain; Antidepressants for non-neuropathic pain; Anti-inflammatory
medications; Barbiturate-containing analgesic agents (BCAs);
Benzodiazepines; Botulinum toxin (Botox); Bupropion (Wellbutrin®);
Capsaicin, topical; Carbamazepine (Tegretol®); Carisoprodol (Soma®);
Celebrex®; Chronic pain programs, opioids; Cod liver oil; CRPS, medications;
CRPS, sympathetic and epidural blocks; Cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril®); Cymbalta;
Detoxification; Diabetic neuropathy; Drug therapy; Duloxetine (Cymbalta®);
Effexor; Epidural steroid injections (ESIs); Facet blocks; Gabapentin (Neurontin®);
Glucosamine (and Chondroitin Sulfate); Ibuprofen; Implantable drug-delivery
systems (IDDSs); Injection with anaesthetics and/or steroids; Intrathecal
pumps; Intravenous regional sympathetic blocks (for RSD, nerve blocks);
Ketamine; Lamotrigine (Lamictal®); Lumbar sympathetic block; Medications for
acute pain (analgesics); Medications for subacute & chronic pain; Metaxalone
(Skelaxin®); Morphine pumps; Multidisciplinary pain programs; Muscle
relaxants; Naproxen; Narcotics; Neurontin®; Nonprescription medications;
NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs); NSAIDs, GI symptoms &
cardiovascular risk; Number needed to treat; Oral morphine; Opioids; Opioids
for chronic pain; Opioids for neuropathic pain; Opioids, cancer pain vs.
nonmalignant pain; Opioids, criteria for use; Opioids, dealing with misuse &
addiction; Opioids, long-term assessment; Opioids, long-term use &
tolerance; Opioids, pain treatment agreement; Opioids, patients at high-risk
for misuse; Opioids, psychological intervention; Opioids, red flags for
addiction; Opioids, screening for dependence vs. addiction; Opioids,
screening for risk of addiction; Opioids, state medical boards guidelines;
Opioids, weaning of medications; Opioid pumps; Oxycontin®; Pain management
programs; Phentolamine infusion test; Phenytoin (Dilantin®); Prialt®;
Prolotherapy; Pumps, implantable; Salicylate topicals; Sclerotherapy (prolotherapy);
SNRIs (serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors); SSRIs (selective
serotonin reuptake inhibitors); Stellate ganglion block; Substance abuse
(tolerance, dependence, addiction); Sympathetically independent pain (SIP);
Sympathetically maintained pain (SMP); Topical analgesics; Topiramate (Topamax®);
Tramadol (Ultram®); Treatment for CRPS; Trigger point injections;
Venlafaxine (Effexor®); Vicodin®; Vioxx® (rofecoxib); Weaning of
medications; & Ziconotide (Prialt®)
Evidence-based, independent and easy to use, the complete
ODG Treatment in Workers’ Comp
is available for $325 on the Web or in
textbook format, with multi-user discounts available. The Official
Disability Guidelines (without the treatment guidelines) is available
alone at the cost of $195. Raw data files for integration with internal
software applications or for computer-automated benchmarking are also
available. Contact WLDI regarding licensing fees.
For more information,
go to
www.worklossdata.com or contact Work Loss Data Institute (WLDI),
publisher of the ODG product line. WLDI is an independent database
development company focused on workplace health and productivity, based in
Encinitas, CA.
www.worklossdata.com
