WCRI Study: Not Much Change in Longer-Term Opioid Use Trends

A Workers Compensation Research Institute study released Thursday found that longer-term opioid use among workers' compensation claimants isn’t decreasing significantly in most states.The WCRI's report, called Longer-Term Use of Opioids, 2nd Edition, examined usage rates in 25 states. The claims examined were from accident years 2008 to 2010, with each accident year beginning on Oct. 1 and ending on Sept. 31 the next year. Corresponding to each accident year, WCRI looked at prescriptions filled through March 31 of each year from 2010 to 2012.The WCRI study denotes the period &ldq...