1. THE OPIOID CRISIS:
CONSIDERATIONS
FOR EMPLOYERS

2. Critical Issues Breakfast Series
Tess Benham Sr. Program Manager National Safety Council Gary Henson Board of Directors Shatterproof

4. A Father’s Promise

5. Prescription Drugs & The US Workforce
National Employer Survey
Prescription Drugs & The US Workforce

6. Profiling Respondents Professional Profile
All respondents are HR decision makers who are involved in, or ultimately responsible for, decisions about their workplace’s strategy and policies with regards to: health and safety, healthcare benefits, employee policy and/or drug and alcohol policy (highlighted in blue). The majority of respondents are in a HR role.
Professional Responsibilities
Job Role
Years In Role
* Other job roles include: HSE, risk management, staff training & development.
Q2. Please indicate your involvement in each of the following decisions within your organization.
Q3. Which of the following best describes your job function?
Q26. How long have you been in your current role?
Base: 501
(All Respondents)

7. Key Learnings & Considerations

8. 7 In 10 Employers Have Felt The Impact Of Prescription Drugs
Understanding The Issue
7 In 10 Employers Have Felt The Impact Of Prescription Drugs

9. Employers Understand The Health Risks But Not The Business Impact
Understanding The Issue
Employers Understand The Health Risks But Not The Business Impact
“Employers understand prescription drug abuse as a health issue but do not understand its business impact”
Employer Concerns
Employee benefits costs
Ability to hire qualified workers / fill skills
Worker compensation costs
Illness/absenteeism
Aging of the workforce
Workplace violence
Prescription drug misuse
Illegal drug use/sale by employees
Perspective on Prescription Drugs
a sign of addiction
a disease that should be treated as one
a justifiable reason to fire an employee
a bigger problem for than illegal drug abuse
a signal that an employee cannot be trusted
a moral / ethical failure
harming the safety of my workforce
lowering the productivity of my workforce
a threat to my company’s reputation
increasing my worker’s compensation costs
decreasing employee morale
causing more near misses or injuries
making it hard to hire qualified employees
a problem in my workforce
making it hard to keep qualified employees
“Employers focus more on HR challenges than prescription drug misuse”
Substances of Concern
Alcohol
Marijuana
Opioid pain relievers
Anti-anxiety medications
Heroin
ADHD stimulants
“Employers are more concerned about alcohol and marijuana than opioids although opioids still a concern to many”

10. Preparing For The Issue
Over A Quarter Of Employers Feel Unprepared For Dealing With Prescription Drug Misuse
The less prepared organizations are smaller and are less likely to have employees operating machinery, tools and vehicles. This is a consistent national pattern with no noteworthy differences by region or industry.
Overall employer preparedness to deal with prescription drug misuse
72% Prepared
28% Unprepared
More so large organizations with 1,000+ employees – 80%
More so smaller organizations with less than 1,000 employees – 33%
Organization size
More so organizations with union contracts/regulation – 79%
More so organizations without union contracts/regulation – 33%
Workforce under union contract/regulation
More so if any employees operate machinery, tools or vehicles – 76%
More so if no employees operate machinery, tools or vehicles – 24%
Workforce operating machinery, tools or vehicles

11. Policies & Processes Significantly Improve Preparedness
Preparing For The Issue
Policies & Processes Significantly Improve Preparedness
…Take Workplace Initiatives
Training (95%)
Drug Testing (84%) Has An EAP (75%)
… Cover Issues In Written Policies
Employee use of medical marijuana (86%)
Performance improvement plan for those who fail drug tests (85%)
Return to work policies for impairing medications (84%)
Employee responsibility to notify of prescription drug usage (84%)
Return to work policies for substance abuse treatment (82%)
Make accommodations for impairment due to prescription medications (81%)
Employee use of prescription drugs at work (81%)
Drug Testing (78%)
Employee use of drugs without a prescription/illicit drugs (77%)
… Have Confidence In Workplace Processes
(Q9: % Somewhat & Very Confident)
Processes for helping with recovery (83%)
Management ability to identify impairment/addiction (83%)
Workers’ ability to identify impairment/addiction (82%)
Procedures for managers to follow (81%)
Insurance and benefits to deal with issue (78%)
Appropriate policies to deal with issue (77%)
All employers who take any of the initiatives tested (training, drug testing, EAP), cover any one of the issues tested in written policies, or have confidence in their workplace processes, are significantly more likely to consider their organization prepared to deal with prescription drug misuse. For instance, 95% of those who offer relevant workplace training about prescription drug usage and misuse feel prepared to deal with the issue.

12. There Is Significant Interest In Alternatives To Prescription Drugs
Responding To The Issue
There Is Significant Interest In Alternatives To Prescription Drugs
88%
Are interested in their insurer offering alternative treatment options
62%
Are likely to request that their insurer offers alternative treatment options
57%
Expect their insurer to be responsive to offering alternative treatment options
The 30% Who Are Interested But Unlikely To Request
Physical Therapy
Is the most commonly covered treatment (31%) and the most attractive for those who do not offer it (84%)
less concerned about opioids (23% versus 66%) and other drugs
less concerned about prescription drug misuse (25% versus 66%)
less likely to recognize the health and business impact of prescription drug abuse
less interested in specific alternative treatment options
less likely to expect the insurer to be responsive
(17% versus 75%)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Is the second-most most commonly covered treatment (14%) and the second-most attractive for those who do not offer it (79%)

13. Training About The Subject Is The Strongest Driver Of Preparedness
Preparing For The Issue
Training About The Subject Is The Strongest Driver Of Preparedness
Every policy tested in this survey significantly improves overall preparedness to deal with prescription abuse in the workplace. However, employers offering training on the subject have a significantly higher correlation with overall preparedness. At the same time, this is the least implemented initiative, used only by 24% of employers. When charted against primary usage, it is the one item which drives preparedness like no other, and it is highly underutilized. It also has other clear benefits, such as improving the ability of co-workers to spot warning signs.
Drivers of Overall Preparedness
Who can identify signs of prescription drug abuse?
Underutilized Primary Driver
HR Decision Makers
(me personally)
HR Department
Supervisors / Managers
Individual Employees
Training around workplace usage of prescription drugs

14. Employers Who Have Experienced An Incident Have More Policies In Place
Responding To The Issue
Employers Who Have Experienced An Incident Have More Policies In Place
Topics Covered By Written Policies
Drug testing
Employee use of drugs without a prescription/illicit drugs
Return to work policies for employees undergoing substance abuse treatment
Employee use of prescription drugs at work
Return to work policies for employees taking impairing medications
Interactive process to make accommodations for employee impairment due to prescription medications
Performance improvement plan for employees who fail drug tests/performance declines from drug usage
Employee responsibility to notify supervisors of prescription drug usage
Employee use of medical marijuana
Those employers who have experienced a negative incident related to prescription drug usage are significantly more likely to have relevant policies in place.
This could suggest all or some of the following:
That it takes something to go wrong for employers to get adequate policies and processes in place;
That those employers most exposed to the risk of incidents are also best prepared;
That some organizations don’t recognize the challenge, and are both unaware and unprepared to deal with potential incidents.

15. Real Costs of Substance Use nsc.org/drugsatwork
Easy to use tool
Computes cost of substance use
Specific to your industry and state

16. Methodology
Combines latest data on employment costs with data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health to calculate how much substance misuse in your workplace costs
Data Sources
National Survey on Drug Use and Health
3-year average of data ( )
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Fully loaded hourly wage data by industry – August 2016
Hospital claims data
This tool combines the latest research on employment costs with data from National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) to calculate how much substance misuse and abuse in your workforce costs employers

17. Prevalence of pain medication, alcohol and substance use disorders prevalent by industry sector
Higher prevalence
Younger, male-dominated workforce, easy access to alcohol
Construction, entertainment, recreation and food service have twice the rate of SUDs and AUDs
This tool combines the latest research on employment costs with data from National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) to calculate how much substance misuse and abuse in your workforce costs employers

18. Missed Work & Job Turnover
Workers with substance use disorders miss 50% more days than their peers.
Workers with pain medication use disorder miss 3x’s more work – 29 days.
Costs of missed work vary by industry ranging from $187 to $3,941 per employee annually.
Employees with untreated or active substance use disorder had higher turnover rate 36% as compared with 25% for general workforce.
Excess job turnover per capita costs range from $512 to more than $4,000 annually. Turnover costs are highest in high-wage and higher-skilled industries.

19. Excess Healthcare Use
Workers and family members with a current SUD consistently use more health services and cost more than those individuals with no SUD.
A worker with a SUD, the cost of employee’s health care in 2014 was $2,198, primarily from excess emergency department use.
Pain medication use disorders cost twice as much, at $5,586. Emergency use is 4x’s that of workers with no SUD and twice the rate of workers with other SUDs.
This tool combines the latest research on employment costs with data from National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) to calculate how much substance misuse and abuse in your workforce costs employers

20. Employer investment in treatment reduces missed work and job turnover
Workers completing treatment and in recovery for 1 year
fewer days of work and less likely to change jobs

21. Employer investment in treatment reduces healthcare costs
Healthcare utilization returns to baseline for
workers completing treatment and in recovery for 1 year

22. Business leader action

23. 3 Step Plan Identity Cost of Substance Use Disorder (SUD)
ROI Driven Workplace Programs
Corporate Culture that Eliminates Stigma
Surgeon General estimates $120b spent annually on substance use-related health care services in ‘16 ($370 pp in U.S.)

24. Questions Tess Benham Tess.Benham@nsc.org Gary Henson Shatterproof
Surgeon General estimates $120b spent annually on substance use-related health care services in ‘16 ($370 pp in U.S.)