Healthcare (Commonwealth Union) – Opioids, a class of drugs derived from the opium poppy plant, have been used for centuries to alleviate pain. They work by binding to specific receptors in the brain and spinal cord, reducing the perception of pain and producing a sense of euphoria. While opioids have proven to be effective in managing acute pain and providing relief for patients with terminal illnesses, their use has become increasingly controversial due to the potential for addiction, abuse, and overdose. Recognizing these issues alternatives to opioids such as nanocarriers have been in focus.
For many years, the world has witnessed an alarming rise in opioid-related deaths and addiction. A Monash University-led study has revealed that thousands of injured workers in Victoria are being prescribed high-risk opioids.
Published in the peer-reviewed journal CNS Drugs, the research examined opioid prescriptions covered by the Victorian workers’ compensation system and, for the first time, quantified the number of cases involving early high-risk prescribing patterns.
Researchers looked into data from 30,590 employees who sustained back and neck injuries between 2010 and 2019, all of whom took time off work and filed a workers’ compensation claim. Among them, 6,278 workers (approximately 20.5%) were prescribed opioids within the first three months of their claim.
Medical guidelines generally advise against opioid use when alternative pain relief options are available. When opioids are necessary, they should be administered in minimal doses for short durations.
Of those prescribed opioids within the first three months, 67.1% received high-risk opioid prescriptions early on, and nearly 22.8% continued opioid use beyond a year.
Yonas Tefera, lead author from the Monash University, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine Healthy Working Lives Research Group indicated that they examined comprehensive data on the type, quantity, and timing of opioid prescriptions covered by the workers’ compensation system.
He further pointed out that prescriptions were classified as high-risk if a large quantity was dispensed within the first three months, if long-acting opioids were introduced early, or if opioids were prescribed alongside other high-risk medications.
Tefera also indicated that their findings revealed that early high-risk prescribing doubled the likelihood of prolonged opioid use. Previous research indicates that injured workers who start opioids early or take them for an extended period often experience longer absences from work and poorer health outcomes.
The research also revealed that employees in rural regions and areas with greater economic hardship were more prone to receiving early high-risk opioid prescriptions and developing long-term opioid dependence.
Professor Alex Collie, Senior Author and Director of the Healthy Working Lives Research Group, emphasized that the findings shed light on two concerning trends among workers with common workplace injuries and compensation claims—early high-risk opioid prescribing and prolonged opioid use.
Professor Collie noted that each year, over 120,000 Australians file workers’ compensation claims that require more than a week off work, with a significant portion of these claims related to back and neck injuries.
“If the patterns we observe in Victoria also occur in other states and territories, then potentially thousands of workers are receiving high-risk opioid prescriptions funded by our workers’ compensation systems.
“This study highlights the need for stronger monitoring of prescription patterns in our workers’ compensation systems, and the need for stronger approaches to prevent potentially harmful prescription opioid use.”
A previous study conducted by the Monash research team and published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine revealed that the majority of workers’ compensation regulators in Australia fail to consistently collect data on prescription medications.
“Victoria is one of only two states in the country where this sort of analysis is possible, because the other state workers’ compensation systems aren’t collecting detailed information on the medicines they are paying for,” explained Professor Collie.
