Task Force Releases Draft Opioid Guidelines

Nine months after it was formed, the North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Opioid Task Force has issued draft rules that would limit daily dosages for acute pain to a 50 morphine equivalent dose (MED) and would cap initial prescriptions for non-surgical patients at five days. The proposal breaks down appropriate medication usage at the various stages of pain, including first and subsequent opioid, and other pain medication prescriptions during the acute and chronic pain stages. The draft rules would apply to non-cancer pain in workers’ compensation claims and exclude claims i...