Recent studies reveal pain costs up to $635 billion annually in medical treatment, with lost productivity contributing to $229-335 billion of that overall cost. The workplace has been significantly affected opioid epidemic including the fact that narcotic users are:
- Ten times more likely to miss work
- 33% less productive
- 3.6 times more likely to be involved in on-the-job accidents
- 5 times more likely to injure themselves or another on the job (and are responsible for 40 percent of all industrial fatalities)
The Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force has partnered with the National Safety Council to provide employeers with the necessary tools understand this growing problem. Take the first steps to ensuring your business stays aware of this key workplace issue
Employer Downloads:
The Prescription Drug Employer Kit - developed by our partners at the National Safety Council
Results From a Survey of Indiana Employees - developed by the National Safety Council and the Attorney General's Office
In economic terms, an addiction can lead to a drop in productivity, reduced product quality, increased absenteeism, and higher health care costs. In human terms, an addiction can lead to failed marriages, broken homes, severe emotional problems, and even death. Depending on the nature of the individual's work, public safety can be jeopardized.
The use of opioids in workers’ compensation has risen over the past decade along with the cost of medications. Employees using narcotics are five times more likely to file a worker’s compensation claim.
- Between 2001 and 2008, narcotic prescriptions as a share of all drugs used to treat workplace injuries jumped 63 percent, according to insurance industry data.
- In California, workplace insurers spent $252 million on opioids in 2010, which represented about 30 percent of all prescription costs. This is double the utilization seen in 2002, when opioids accounted for 15 percent of drug expenditures.
- Claims that involve the use of long-acting opioids cost 9.3 more than claims without these agents.
Indiana Based Statistics
The most recent State Epidemiological Profile: The Consumption and Consequences of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drugs in Indiana
Information about Rx Abuse on a National Scale
Defines the scope of the issue
National Institute on Health Offers Commonly Abused Drug Information
Workplace Policy Research & Labor Law
U.S. Office of Personnel Management Employee Assistance Programs on Substance Abuse
Drug-Free Workplace Policy Builder - US Department of Labor
National Institute on Health Offers Information on Drug Screening
Download Information for Your Work Place
