When refining a return-to-work program, employers can often overlook this one, crucial element: The interactions medications have on their injured workers.

A panel at the 2019 National Workers’ Compensation and Disability Conference® & Expo titled “The Opioid Epidemic: Mitigating Employee Safety and Health Risks” drew audience attention to alternatives that are helping curb the crisis.

Absenteeism, higher rates of accidents and frequent tardiness are making this already costly epidemic even more expensive.

From mounting opioid litigation to the more recent Risperdal suit, J&J is in the hot seat, teaching other companies the value reputation can hold.

The poisonous actions of pharma companies peddling painkillers are a social scourge that cannot be accepted.

High prescription drug costs are a huge issue in workers’ compensation, but there are a few ways to tackle the rising costs.

With more than 2,000 lawsuits pending across the country, drug manufacturer Johnson & Johnson is in the legal hot seat.

Pharmaceutical companies and their insurers should brace themselves as the opioid litigation rages ahead.

Nuclear verdicts are on the rise in the United States, but according to these legal professionals, jury consulting is a prime way to mitigate the risk.

A look at recent court decisions and how their rulings have an impact on risk management and the insurance industry.

A lack of product standardization, the new federal legality of some types of CBD and ever changing state regulations are just some of the issues facing the medical cannabis community.

Researchers can’t say with certainty why women who are injured at work are more prone to commit suicide or suffer a drug overdose.

Two non-psychoactive molecules from the Cannabis sativa L plant have the potential to replace opioids with a new drug that poses zero-impairment issues for users.

Lawsuits against drug makers may be necessary, but to what degree do they aid addicted injured workers?

Here’s what one medical director says the workers’ comp industry should think about before embracing the drug.

PBMs and payers are starting to get opioid prescribing under control, but new trends may threaten the progress made.

News that Purdue is exploring filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy suggests the company might be trying to avoid financial liability in opioid-related suits.

Workers’ comp needs a better solution for opioids than more prescription opportunities. And luckily, numerous alternative treatments are already at our fingertips.

Increasingly, PBMs are relying on massive stores of data to identify broader patterns that inform individual prescription decisions.

Attendees of the 2018 National Workers’ Compensation and Disability Conference shared their thoughts on the challenges and trends unfolding ahead.