NJ Judge Orders Psychotherapy Sessions In Conjunction With Pain Management

A NJ Workers' Compensation Judge Ordered the continuation of medical services to an injured worker who has been struggling for years because of chronic knee pain depression and anxiety despite the objection of the employer who sought to terminate care. The Judge Philip A. Tornetta, Administrative Supervisory  Judge of Compensation, adopted an innovative approach  in attempt to reduce or eliminated prescribed drugs including, "Oxycontin for her knee  pain, Lexapro for depression and Xanax, which helps her sleep."

Nurse Ratched Comes To Workers' Compensation or Why Workers' Compensation Should NOT be Involved in Criminal Drug Enforcement

Restricting the dispensing of pain medication hurts injured workers. The knee jerk reaction to make it more difficult to obtain medication to relieve excruciating pain will come back to haunt those who pass such legislation. During this week, while in Florida, I needed to get a physician, post surgery, to write and then fill a prescription of opioids. The patient described her pain as "feeling like Jesus Christ nailed to the cross." Florida has a restrictive law that requires the prescription to be hand delivered in original format from the doctor to the pharmacy. Another step or hurtle that slowed down the process 6 hours. Be careful what you wish for! When you need pain relief you don't want to cry and wait 6 hours. Workers' Compensation insurance carriers should stay out of this fray, and just allow criminal enforcement to handle regulation and dispensing of pain medications. Today's guest post from alaskajournal.com  demonstrates an example of why workers' compensation is a just about dead. Misdirection of attention to the wrong things, and a focus on cost ,and not empathy or the remedial aspects as embodied in the legislative intent of the Act as enacted in 1911, has destroyed the program. Continued restrictions will just bury it. State officials and legislators are increasingly concerned with the over-prescription of opiates and other controlled substances for pain management in the workers’ compensation program. A bill pending in...

[Click here to see the rest of this post]

Related Story:
Workers' Compensation: Physicians Petition to Limit Opioid Abuse
Jul 27, 2012
The efforts to reform pharmacuetical use is a tough balancing act. The ulterior motive of cost savings and profits generates sensationalism, but what makes good medical sense and what benefits the patient should not go ...
http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/