Brace for New Wave of Opioid Abuse with FDA OK of Zohydro

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recent approval of a powerful, long-lasting hydrocodone painkiller without features to deter addiction and resist tampering means workers' compensation insurers, employers and health care providers need to prepare for a new wave of opioid abuse by next year, managed-care experts warn."Payers need to be proactive to the greatest extent possible," said Michael Gavin, president of Prium, a Georgia-based company that specializes in managing workers' compensation costs. "Claims professionals are going to have to be educated to intervene early in t...