Private-Label Drugs Drive Concern About Topical Medications

As the workers’ comp industry has reined in spending on custom-made compounded pain creams, other types of topical medications are now drawing scrutiny. Manufactured topicals represented only 4.8% of total prescriptions last year but accounted for 12.8% of total drug costs, according to a new installment in Coventry’s drug trend series for 2017. Top-prescribed topicals include Pennsaid and its generic equivalents; a topical solution of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac; and lidocaine ointment. Coventry found different patterns of topical drug use for in-network...