Last updated : December 23, 2024
The total loss to employers due to drug use, both legal and illegal, is estimated at $120 billion annually. According to a New York Times article, workplace insurers spend an estimated $1.4 billion annually on legal prescription narcotic painkillers alone. However, painkillers cost them much more than the price of those drugs, much of it from lost time, lower productivity, and additional training costs to replace addicted workers.
The number of people taking painkillers including oxycodone, fentanyl, hydromorphone, and methadone, which are all stronger than morphine, increased 20% from 1999 to 2012, from 17% to 37%. According to the Center for Disease Control prescription drug abuse has become an epidemic. In 2012, there were 16,007 deaths from overdose, three times more than there were in 1999.
A new slow release form of hydrocodone, Zohydro, may increase these already disturbing statistics. It is available in doses five times the amount found in other forms of the drug, making addiction far more likely. Company officials claim Zohydro can benefit patients with malignant cancer pain. However, licensed addiction specialist Dr. Dana Jane Saltzman argues that only 2% of opioid painkillers are being prescribed for people with malignant pain, and that ” We give out 84 percent of all the painkillers in the world, and 99 percent of the hydrocodone in the whole world.” She believes that less addictive drugs are available for treating pain.
Some people blame doctors for overprescribing narcotics to help alleviate pain even though it is not an appropriate long-term solution. Within seven years, prescriptions for narcotics to treat workplace injuries increased 63 percent. It has been estimated that an average workplace injury has a cost of approximately $13,000. When a mild narcotic is prescribed, that cost increases to $39,000. to $17,000. If a stronger narcotic, like Oxycontin, is prescribed, the cost skyrockets to $117,000.
That’s partly because addiction results in higher incidences of sick leave as well as the need for treatment and sometimes even long-term disability. According to Ray Isackila, an addiction recovery counselor at UH Case Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio “…when the brain receives a message over and over from these opiate medications, the brain changes to adapt to that reward and that drug. So the first change in the brain is tolerance.” That means that addicts have to keep increasing the dosage to get the same effect, and eventually, to avoid withdrawal symptoms.
The use of narcotics to treat relatively minor injuries often causes more injuries, as well as addiction. When under the influence of these drugs, employees are often lethargic and unable to focus clearly. They’re also apt to take longer and more frequent breaks, come into work late, and experience confusion and difficulty with concentration. That lack of concentration leads to more frequent accidents. All of these things lead to lower productivity and reduced quality of work. One worker using these narcotics for pain said in an anonymous interview “I am slower on the job, slower to make decisions, or just comprehend what I’m reading”
One company, Quest, used by employers to test for prescription drug use, tested 5.5 million workers. Their results showed that tests given post-accident revealed opiate use four times more often (3.7%) than pre-employment tests (0.78 %), which suggests that drug use does increase the number of workplace accidents. Employers hope that by increasing testing for prescription drug use, they can help save lives, as well as money.
