Workers Comp Opioid Misuse and the Pandemic: How to Reduce the Risks

Last Updat­ed on June 1, 2023 

The COVID-19 pan­dem­ic has had a sig­nif­i­cant impact on peo­ple’s lives, and for injured work­ers who have been pre­scribed opi­oids as part of their treat­ments, social iso­la­tion and oth­er pan­dem­ic-relat­ed stres­sors can exac­er­bate the risk of opi­oid mis­use and dri­ve up the cost of work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion claims. 

• Opi­oids are a class of drugs that are used to treat pain, but they can also be addictive.
• In 2020, 34 per­cent of all work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion claims with pre­scrip­tions had at least one pre­scrip­tion for opioids.
• The COVID-19 pan­dem­ic has had a sig­nif­i­cant impact on peo­ple’s lives, and can make it more dif­fi­cult for peo­ple to cope with pain and can increase the risk of opi­oid misuse.
• There are a num­ber of things that can be done to reduce the risk of opi­oid mis­use, including: 
  • Edu­cat­ing patients about the risks of opioids
  • Pre­scrib­ing opi­oids only when necessary
  • Mon­i­tor­ing patients closely
  • Pro­vid­ing patients with access to treatment

Opioids and Workers Compensation

The risks of opi­oid mis­use and the impact of social iso­la­tion and oth­er pan­dem­ic-relat­ed stres­sors on injured work­ers who have been pre­scribed opi­oids as part of their treatments:

Opi­oids are a class of drugs that are used to treat pain. They are very effec­tive at reliev­ing pain, but they can also be addic­tive. In 2020, 34 per­cent of all work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion claims with pre­scrip­tions had at least one pre­scrip­tion for opi­oids, based on CDC-col­lect­ed data. This means that mil­lions of work­ers are being pre­scribed opi­oids each year.

Opi­oids can be a safe and effec­tive way to treat pain, but they must be used care­ful­ly. If not used cor­rect­ly, opi­oids can lead to addic­tion, over­dose, and death.

The Risks of Opioid Misuse

There are many risks asso­ci­at­ed with opi­oid mis­use. Some of the most com­mon risks include:

• Addic­tion: Opi­oids are high­ly addic­tive. This means that peo­ple who take opi­oids can become addict­ed to them, even if they only take them for a short peri­od of time.
• Over­dose: Opi­oids can be fatal if they are tak­en in too high of a dose. In 2020, there were over 70,000 opi­oid over­dose deaths in the Unit­ed States.
• Death: Opi­oids can also lead to death if they are tak­en in com­bi­na­tion with oth­er drugs, such as alco­hol or benzodiazepines.

The Impact of Social Isolation and Other Pandemic-Related Stressors

The COVID-19 pan­dem­ic has had a sig­nif­i­cant impact on peo­ple’s lives. Many peo­ple have been forced to work from home, iso­late them­selves from friends and fam­i­ly, and deal with the stress of the pan­dem­ic. These stres­sors can make it more dif­fi­cult for peo­ple to cope with pain and can increase the risk of opi­oid misuse.

How to Reduce the Risk of Opioid Misuse

There are a num­ber of things that can be done to reduce the risk of opi­oid mis­use. Some of the most impor­tant things include:

• Edu­cat­ing patients about the risks of opi­oids: Patients should be edu­cat­ed about the risks of opi­oids, includ­ing the risk of addic­tion, over­dose, and death.
• Pre­scrib­ing opi­oids only when nec­es­sary: Opi­oids should only be pre­scribed when nec­es­sary. There are many oth­er effec­tive treat­ments for pain, such as phys­i­cal ther­a­py, exer­cise, and non-steroidal anti-inflam­ma­to­ry drugs (NSAIDs).
• Mon­i­tor­ing patients close­ly: Patients who are pre­scribed opi­oids should be mon­i­tored close­ly for signs of addic­tion and overdose.
• Pro­vid­ing patients with access to treat­ment: Patients who are strug­gling with opi­oid addic­tion should have access to treat­ment, such as med­ica­tion-assist­ed treat­ment (MAT) and counseling.

FAQ

Is opioid use disorder considered a disability?

Yes, opi­oid use dis­or­der is con­sid­ered a dis­abil­i­ty under Sec­tion 504 of the Reha­bil­i­ta­tion Act, the Amer­i­cans with Dis­abil­i­ties Act (ADA), and Sec­tion 1557 of the Afford­able Care Act when the drug addic­tion sub­stan­tial­ly lim­its a major life activity¹²³.

Source:
(1) Drug Addic­tion and Fed­er­al Dis­abil­i­ty Rights Laws Fact Sheet — HHS.gov. https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/drug-addiction-aand-federal-disability-rights-laws-fact-sheet.pdf.
(2) Opi­oid Use Dis­or­der | ADA.gov. https://www.ada.gov/topics/opioid-use-disorder/.
(3) Use of Codeine, Oxy­codone, and Oth­er Opi­oids: Infor­ma­tion for Employ­ees. https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/use-codeine-oxycodone-and-other-opioids-information-employees.

Is opioid use disorder considered a disability under Workers Comp?

It depends on the cir­cum­stances. If the court acknowl­edges a super­sed­ing cause, work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion will not cov­er the dam­ages. How­ev­er, cir­cum­stances do exist where work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion might be respon­si­ble for the cost of opi­oid addic­tion treatments¹³.

Source:
(1) Are Opi­oid Over­dos­es Cov­ered by Work­ers’ Com­pen­sa­tion?. https://www.sweeneymerrigan.com/opioid-lawsuits/are-opioid-overdoses-covered-by-workers-compensation/.
(2) ADA Pro­tects Work­ers in Treat­ment and Recov­ery for Opi­oid Use — SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/employment-law/pages/ada-protects-workers-in-treatment-and-recovery-for-opioid-use.aspx.
(3) A Pub­lic Health Approach to Pro­tect­ing Work­ers from Opi­oid Use Dis­or­der …. https://www.apha.org/policies-and-advocacy/public-health-policy-statements/policy-database/2021/01/13/protecting-workers-from-opioid-use-disorder.
(4) Use of Codeine, Oxy­codone, and Oth­er Opi­oids: Infor­ma­tion for Employ­ees. https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/use-codeine-oxycodone-and-other-opioids-information-employees.

Conclusion

Opi­oids can be a safe and effec­tive way to treat pain, but they must be used care­ful­ly. If not used cor­rect­ly, opi­oids can lead to addic­tion, over­dose, and death. The COVID-19 pan­dem­ic has had a sig­nif­i­cant impact on peo­ple’s lives and can make it more dif­fi­cult for peo­ple to cope with pain and can increase the risk of opi­oid misuse. 

There are a num­ber of things that can be done to reduce the risk of opi­oid mis­use, includ­ing edu­cat­ing patients about the risks of opi­oids, pre­scrib­ing opi­oids only when nec­es­sary, mon­i­tor­ing patients close­ly, and pro­vid­ing patients with access to treatment.

If you have been injured on the job and have been pre­scribed opi­oids, it is impor­tant to be aware of the risks of opi­oid mis­use and to take steps to reduce your risk. You should also talk to your doc­tor about your pain man­age­ment options and about ways to reduce your risk of opi­oid mis­use.