Along With Drop in Opioids Came a Drop in Other Prescriptions, Report Shows

When Texas workers’ compensation regulators implemented a drug formulary in 2011, restricting opioid prescribing, they expected that doctors would simply switch injured workers over to other, non-opioid medications. But a funny thing happened on the way to a drop in opioid use: The prescriptions, dosages and costs of non-opioid drugs also have declined significantly in the last several years, the top researcher for the Division of Workers’ Compensation told state lawmakers at a hearing last week. “It appears that the whole prescription behavior pattern has changed,&rdq...