Chronic Pain and the Opioid Epidemic: An Employer Response

Even if your organization has maintained a “drug-free workplace” for decades, your employees need another layer of protection from you to reduce their risk from opioids.

For many employees, addiction to opioid painkillers such as oxycodone and fentanyl began with employer-provided healthcare, whether through workers’ compensation (WC) or non-occupational. So far, the heavy lifting to combat the U.S. opioid epidemic has involved federal and state agencies (especially WC), medical providers, and pharmacies. With the legal and medical infrastructure ramping up to restrict access to opioids and prevent abuse, it’s up to employers to develop compatible programs.

The Epidemic

Natural and semisynthetic opioids, including the most commonly prescribed opioid pain relievers of oxycodone and hydrocodone, are involved in more overdose deaths than any other opioid type.

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