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This edition of the Catasys newsletter outlines the impact of opioid abuse and the relatively low level of intervention with these individuals. Among health plans, opioid abuse is often highly visible due to the strong efforts by pharmacy departments to highlight this high-cost area. For perspective, opioid abuse usually comprises 10-20 percent of the substance abuse savings opportunity in a commercial population. As noted in the articles below, today’s opioid problem seems to be growing.
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Opioid abusers cost 8x more in total claims per year than nonabuses ($15,884 versus $1,830 respectively) |
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Admissions reporting any abuse of pain relievers increased from 2.2 percent to 9.8 percent of substance dependent treatment admissions |
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Oversight and intervention is lacking to curb and treat the dependence / abuse |
As always, we hope you find these articles thought provoking.
Take care,
The Catasys Health Team
866-517-1414
www.catasyshealth.com
P.S. – I've also included links to our recent Press Releases announcing that our OnTrak™ integrated substance dependence program continues to expand, and has begun outreach and treatment with Coventry Health Care of Louisiana, Fallon Community Health Plan and Reliant Medical Group.
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January 2012 — Edition 4 |
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Costs of Opioid Abuse in an Insured Population United States Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy July/August 2005 Vol. 11, No. 6. |
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Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions Involving Abuse of Pain Relievers Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies. July 2010. |
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Low Use of Opioid Risk Reduction Strategies in Primary Care Even for High Risk Patients with Chronic Pain J Gen Intern Med 2011 Sep;26(9):958-64. Epub 2011 Feb 24. |
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Press Releases |
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Catasys Adds Another Customer in Massachusetts December 16, 2011 -
Catasys, Inc. |
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Leading Addiction Expert Joins Catasys as Chief Medical Officer December 9, 2011 - Catasys, Inc. |
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Catasys Contracts with Coventry Health Care of Louisiana December 1, 2011 - Catasys, Inc. |
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Catasys Launches Its Integrated Substance Dependence Program in Massachusetts September 27, 2011 - Catasys, Inc. |
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Call Us Today |
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866-517-1414 |
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Catasys on Healthcare |
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The Latest in Healthcare News — January 2012 |
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Costs of Opioid Abuse in an Insured Population
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Opioid abusers, compared with nonabusers, had higher claims, greater inpatient and Rx utilization, and more comorbid conditions. Mean annual direct health care costs for opioid abusers were more than 8 times higher than for nonabusers ($15,884 versus $1,830, respectively). Hospital inpatient utilization was more than 12 times higher, accounting for $7,239 for opioid abusers versus only $310 for nonabusers. Mean drug costs for opioid abusers were more than 5 times higher than costs for nonabusers ($2,034 vs. $386, respectively). Abusers also had significantly higher prevalence rates for comorbidities, including nonopioid poisoning, hepatitis (A, B, or C), psychiatric illnesses, and pancreatitis.
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Source: White, Alan G. et. al. Costs of Direct Costs of Opioid Abuse in an Insured Population in the United States Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy July/August 2005 Vol. 11, No. 6 pp. 469-479 |
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Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions Involving Abuse of Pain Relievers |
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The proportion of all substance abuse treatment admissions aged 12 or older that reported any pain reliever abuse increased more than fourfold between 1998 and 2008, from 2.2 to 9.8 percent. Increases in percentages of admissions reporting pain reliever abuse cut across age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, employment, and region. Among admissions for which medication-assisted opioid therapy was planned, reports of pain reliever abuse more than tripled, from 6.8 percent in 1998 to 26.5 percent in 2008. |
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Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies. (July 15, 2010). The TEDS Report: Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions Involving Abuse of Pain Relievers: 1998 and 2008. Rockville, MD. |
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Low Use of Opioid Risk Reduction Strategies in Primary Care Even for High Risk Patients with Chronic Pain |
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Primary care physicians' adoption of opioid risk reduction strategies is limited, even among patients at increased risk of misuse. Only a small minority (8 percent) of patients were found to have undergone any urine drug testing. While such testing was more common in patients at higher risk for opioid misuse, the rate of testing among those high-risk patients was still low (24 percent). Only half of patients were seen regularly in the office, and patients at higher risk of opioid misuse were not seen more frequently than patients at lower risk. Although fewer than one-quarter (23 percent) of all patients received two or more early opioid refills, patients at greater risk for opioid misuse were more likely to receive multiple early refills. |
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Source: Starrels, JL et. al. Low use of opioid risk reduction strategies in primary care even for high risk patients with chronic pain J Gen Intern Med 2011 Sep;26(9):958-64. Epub 2011 Feb 24. |
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Thank you very much for reading our newsletter. We appreciate your support.
Catasys integrates medical and behavioral therapies to help your organization treat and manage your substance dependent population to improve outcomes and lowers both the medical and behavioral costs associated with Substance Dependence and related co-morbidities.
Catasys, Inc., 11150 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 1500, Los Angeles, California 90025
For questions regarding this newsletter, please email: info@catasyshealth.com |
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