Topical drugs continue to rise in costs, utilization for injured workers

The number of injured workers using topical medications rose from 3.7% to 17.3% in 2023, according to a report released Wednesday by Enlyte LLC.

Based on claims data from that year, the workers compensation services company found that topical medications, mostly pain-relieving creams, accounted for 7.2% of claims utilization but 18% of costs, and specialty drugs accounted for 1.5% of utilization but 11.2% of drug costs.

The report found that 116 out of every 1,000 injured workers are prescribed topical pain-relief drugs, with such costs rising 8.8% per claim and 6.4% per prescription.

For specialty drugs, data showed a 16.8% increase per claim and a 13.9% increase per script. Costs for specialty migraine medications rose 97.3%.

The latest drug trend report also showed decreases in opioid use and costs, in line with recent years’ trends.