State Fund Says Opioid Focus Cut Prescriptions by Half

California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund said it was able to cut in half the number of injured workers receiving opioids over the last four years, thanks in large part to efforts to educate providers about the risks associated with narcotic painkillers. Dr. Dinesh Govindarao, chief medical officer for State Fund, said Wednesday that reducing opioid prescriptions was a top priority when he came to the carrier in July 2013. He said the carrier settled on a two-pronged approach. “We had to look at it from the folks that are new injuries and trying to prevent those pe...