In the wake of an unprecedented year for workers’ compensation pharmacy, myMatrixx was able to achieve positive outcomes, according to the newly released 2020 Drug Trend Report. Despite challenges that included the COVID-19 pandemic, an unpredictable environment for new claims and continuing issues such as the opioid misuse crisis, myMatrixx-managed plans saw a 2.6% reduction in cost per days’ supply last year.
myMatrixx releases this report annually as a comprehensive analysis of the major drivers in workers’ compensation retail pharmacy. Looking back at 2020 required in-depth analysis of the many ways COVID-19 affected our sector, from treatment of work-related cases of the disease to the broader economic and statistical impacts. This starting point in turn helped to inform a wider investigation into the trends that shape our industry year-in and year-out.
Critical findings in the 2020 report
Important insights in this year’s edition include:
The evolving picture of COVID-19 treatment: The pandemic had an undeniable effect on workers’ compensation pharmacy, but there was a relatively minimal effect on pharmacy spending at the retail level, totaling less 0.25%.
The COVID distortion effect: With a 19.3% drop in new workers’ compensation claims last year due to the pandemic, we identified that the reduction in lower-cost new claims led to the appearance of increased utilization and spending.
Opioid outlook: myMatrixx continued to focus on opioid misuse and unnecessary prescriptions, resulting in a 15.1% decline in spending for clients.
The growing role of behavioral care: Mental health became a concern during the pandemic as it continues to gain the attention it needs throughout workers’ compensation. Last year cost trends for mental health drugs declined, even as the use of medications per patient increased
Download the report for a closer look at these and other major trends
The 2020 Drug Trend Report also examines the state of generic utilization, the growing importance of home delivery and electronic prescribing, and the latest developments in specialty drugs that claims professionals and industry stakeholders need to know.
For additional data and workers compensation trend insight, download the full report.