<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/b><\/p>\n
MONDAY, June 25, 2018 (HealthDay News) — There are opportunities for recalibrating the role of opioids in pain care, including expanding access to opioid alternatives through coverage and reimbursement policies, according to a study published online June 22 in JAMA Network Open<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Dora H. Lin, M.H.S., from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, and colleagues examined medication coverage policies for 30 prescription opioids and 32 non-opioids used to treat low back pain in a study of health plan documents from 15 Medicaid, 15 Medicare Advantage, and 20 commercial health plans.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that the Medicaid plans covered a median of 19 opioids and 22 non-opioids examined; Medicare Advantage plans covered 17 opioids and 22 non-opioids; and commercial plans covered 23 opioids and 26 non-opioids. Utilization management strategies were common for opioids in Medicaid plans, Medicare Advantage plans, and commercial plans (median, 15, 15, and 16, respectively) and generally relied on 30-day quantity limits instead of prior authorization. Many of the non-opioids were also subject to utilization management, especially quantity limits and prior authorization. According to informant interviews, there was an emphasis on increasing opioid utilization management and identifying high-risk prescribers and patients rather than promoting comprehensive strategies to improve chronic pain treatment.<\/p>\n
“These findings provide an important opportunity to evaluate how formulary placement, utilization management, copayments, and integration of non-pharmacologic treatments can be optimized to improve pain care while reducing opioid-related injuries and deaths,” the authors write.<\/p>\n
Two authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical and technology industries.<\/p>\n
Abstract\/Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n