The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) reported that the number of opioid-dependent injured workers has fallen for the sixth year in a row. The state has taken steps to address opioid dependency and it appears that their efforts are paying off.

In 2011, the bureau defined a clinically dependent person as someone who “took the equivalent of at least 60 milligrams a day or morphine for 60 or more days”. The number of injured workers who met or exceeded the threshold of being clinically dependent was reported as 3,315 at the end of June last year, a 19 percent drop from 2016 and a 59 percent decrease from 2011 when 8,000 workers met the threshold.

BWC Pharmacy Director Nick Trego said that the department’s total drug costs fell to $86 million from $133 million reported in 2011, including $24 million less on opioids since 2011.

The state attributes the decline to steps like adopting a closed formulary, an “opioid rule” which holds prescribers accountable if they fail to follow best practices. Trego also said that he thinks increasing awareness of the opioid epidemic and efforts by other government entities and health care organizations has helped contribute to the decline in workers who are dependent on opioids.

“Weaning a dependent person off opioids, or at least to safer levels, is a long, deliberate process requiring cooperation from the injured worker, health care providers and the worker’s support network,” Trego said. “We’re just one part of that equation, but we’re committed to it.”

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