The impact of skyrocketing use and abuse of prescription painkillers on Louisiana companies and their workers is “quite literally an epidemic,” and the business community is “overdue in trying to address the problem,” a top Louisiana business and industry advocate says.
In its new cover story, Business Report details how opioid abuse is prompting a growing concern among companies over the well-being of the workforce and prompting rising turnover rates and prescription drug costs.
The impact on workers and employers is “quite literally an epidemic,” says Jim Patterson, Louisiana Association of Business and Industry vice president of government affairs. He adds the issue has been known and talked about among the business community, but not broadly enough.
“It’s kind of a dirty little secret in the workplace,” Patterson says. “We are overdue in trying to address the problem of the overprescription of opioids.”
In recent years, Louisiana has seen an alarming rise in opioid-related overdoses: It is one of just eight states with more opioid prescriptions than residents. The severity of the issue prompted the state to pass legislation in June aimed at curbing the epidemic.
Less has been said, however, about an area where Louisiana’s opioid abuse also rises above the rest: its workforce.
The Workers’ Compensation Research Institute reports 85% of injured workers in Louisiana on pain medication received opioids from 2012 to 2014. What’s worse, one in six received opioids on a long-term basis, making Louisiana No. 1 for long-term use among the 25 states included in the study.
The crisis prompted one businessman—RoyOMartin President and CEO Roy O. Martin III—last fall to pen a letter to physicians in central Louisiana, pleading with them for help. In recent years, the Alexandria lumber company has increasingly spent more to replace lost workers as a national epidemic has infiltrated the Louisiana workforce, driving up turnover and absenteeism rates, while decreasing productivity. Replacing addicted employees is an expensive proposition for the company: It shells out $25,000 to hire and train someone new.
“Over the years, we have had several employees who never returned to work after a surgery because of prescription drug dependency,” Martin wrote, asking doctors to heed the medical director’s recommendation and limit painkiller prescriptions. “I hope we can work collectively to stem the growth of the opioid epidemic.”
Business Report has the full cover story. Send your comments to editors@businessreport.com.
