Managing chronic pain can be a real challenge for both an employer as well as the employee. Conscientious employees want to get better and back to work but are often fearful of overmedicating. At the same time, responsible employers want to demonstrate the proper level of concern without appearing to be interfering with prescribed treatment.
If you and your employees are struggling with these issues, you’re not alone – and at least one state is trying to do something to remedy the situation. The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries is expanding an “activity coaching” program to help injured workers manage chronic pain without opioids. The program is recommended for injured workers who:
- Have not returned to work four weeks after being injured and
- Have not improved despite early interventions
“We found among the workers who participated and did the whole program for five to 10 weeks, there were huge improvements” in their conditions, said Dr. Gary Franklin, Medical Director for the state agency.
There is no “one size fits all” solution, however, to managing chronic pain. Dr. Steven Feinberg, Chief Medical Officer at Feinberg Medical Group in Palo Alto, California, and an adjunct clinical professor in the anesthesia/pain management department at the Stanford University School of Medicine, believes “the way we should be approaching this is literally individually by every injured worker and looking at what’s the best thing to help them get better.”
The Federation of State Medical Boards seems to agree. It revised its policy on using opioids to treat chronic pain in 2013. Though most of the policy addresses the risks of using opioids and medical practices that can prevent addiction, it also says “under treatment of pain is recognized as a serious public health problem that compromises patients’ functional status and quality of life.”
What can you, as an employer, do to help manage your employees’ chronic pain as well as your bottom line?
- Work closely with your benefit and health care providers to understand utilization data and develop interventions for prescribing behavior and opioid claims. And ask if they have provisions to pay for alternative therapies to avoid narcotics
- That includes physical therapy or occupational therapy to improve physical function, and cognitive behavioral therapy to help patients cope psychologically with their pain
- Educate your employees about the dangers of taking opioid painkillers
- Encourage them to ask questions of – and become allies with – their doctors in the management of their pain
- Establish processes and procedures for dealing with chronic pain that show your employees you care about their health and well-being
- Be alert to changes in behavior or increased missed time at work, which can be indicative of addictive behavior
Taking these steps accomplishes a lot of good things. In addition to looking out for the best interests of your business and employees, they may very well save lives. Additionally, they will demonstrate your intentions to your insurance company to work as a partner, rather than an adversary, in creating a responsible and cost-effective plan for managing employee health.
For additional helpful information – including what other companies and states are doing to help employers and employees deal with chronic health issues – visit the website for the National Safety Council.
