In an effort to combat opioid addiction, the Wolf Administration recently rolled out a set of opioid prescribing guidelines to assist health care providers treating workers’ compensation patients. Highlighting the need for reform, Governor Wolf stated: “[i]n 2017, there were more than 174,216 workers’ compensation claims made in Pennsylvania, and our state ranks third highest in the nation in the percentage of injured workers who become long-term opioid users.” The Administration reported that workers who received longer-term opioid prescriptions for work-related lower back injuries had a substantially longer duration of temporary disability.

Accordingly, it is no surprise that the average lost time claim for injured workers, prescribed with opioids, is 900% higher than injured workers who were not prescribed the drug. To improve these numbers, the Administration identified the following objectives for the guidelines:

• To promote the delivery of safe, quality health care to injured workers;
• To ensure patient pain relief and functional improvement;
• To be used in conjunction with other treatment guidelines, not in lieu of other recommended treatment;
• To prevent and reduce the number of complication caused by prescription medication, including addiction; and
• To recommend opioid prescribing practices that promote functional restoration.

The guidelines include recommendations for the treatment of acute, sub acute, post-operative pain, and chronic pain. The Wolf Administration released a detailed seven-page instruction on how health care providers should approach treatment for such conditions. Generally, under the guidelines, opioid prescription should be done in combination with other treatment options, at the lowest dose, and for the shortest length of time possible.

While the Administration’s newly issued guidelines are an important step toward fighting opioid addiction in the Commonwealth, it is important to remember that they are just that—guidelines. They are not legally binding and are intended only to supplement, not replace clinical judgment. By following these guidelines, however, health care providers will play a significant role in promoting safe and effective treatment for injured workers so that they may return to work as soon and as safely as possible.