WCIRB: Drug Formulary Has Helped Reduce Prescription Costs, UR Requests

Prescription drug costs and utilization review requests declined sharply at first, then steadily in the two years after the California Division of Workers’ Compensation adopted its Medical Treatment Utilization Schedule drug formulary, according to a research brief by the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau. And although WCIRB researchers acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic might be impacting more recent data, figures from 2018 through the first quarter of 2020 show the formulary has succeeded in helping reduce pharmaceutical and frictional costs within the state&rsq...