ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Joseph Paduda, principal of Health Strategy Associates, will discuss lessons workers’ compensation can share with group health on reducing the use of opioids and other dangerous prescription drugs when he speaks at the National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit in Atlanta on April 18.
While prescription drug misuse remains a national concern, the workers’ compensation industry has developed recovery and return-to-work strategies that can apply to patients covered by group health and other payers. “Lessons from Workers’ Comp: Mitigating Drug Therapy Risk and Reducing Opioid Use” covers ways to identify potentially dangerous drug use and mitigate risks through prior authorization for long-acting opioids, limiting initial opioid prescriptions to three to seven days, drug testing, opioid agreements, and cognitive behavioral therapy.
“Developing effective medical-management strategies requires a deep understanding of the drivers impacting patient care and clinical outcomes,” Paduda said.
Joining Paduda in this timely session are Silvia Sacalis, PharmD, vice president of clinical services for Healthesystems and Adam Seidner, MD, MPH, global medical director with Travelers Insurance. Michelle Landers, JD, executive vice president and general counsel of Kentucky Employers’ Mutual Insurance will moderate the presentation, which is scheduled for April 18 at 2 p.m.
The National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit will be held at The Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta from April 17 through April 20.
Paduda is a managed care expert with extensive experience in pharmacy services. He is also the president of CompPharma, a consortium of pharmacy benefit managers involved in workers’ compensation. In addition to consulting with medical management organizations, employers, health care providers, private equity firms, and insurers, he regularly surveys workers’ comp payers on managing work comp pharmacy costs, opioid use, bill review system, and claims systems. For more information, please see www.healthstrategyassoc.com or www.ManagedCareMatters.com.
