Part Two: Evaluating In-Network and Out-of-Network Trends
In this final post related to our in-network and out-of-network analysis we are taking a closer look at brand and generic medication trends in workers’ comp. Stay tuned for more posts addressing specific trends highlighted in the next piece of our drug trends series focusing on opioids.
Generic medications are drugs made to work exactly the same way as brand name medications with the same active ingredients as the brand name product. The use of generic medications as a percentage of all medications dispensed continued its upwards trend over the past decade and accounted for 87.9% of all medications in 2019 versus 86.4% in 2018. Moreover, the use of brand medications fell by 1.2% and the use of brand medications with generic availability decreased by 0.2%.
Drug classes such as opioids or compounds continue to demonstrate decreased use year-over-year. It is also important to look at other drug types as prescribers look for alternative treatment options. Anticonvulsants (#3 in cost by drug type) are typically used for seizures but in many workers’ compensation cases they are used in managing pain, especially chronic or neuropathic pain. They had a 3.5% decrease in cost per script. This was largely driven by Lyrica®, due in part to its falling price and its’ associated generic which became available in mid-2019.
