Ameritox

Workers' Compensation Administrators

You need to provide your Workers' Compensation claimants with the most effective care while managing costs. Ameritox pain medication monitoring solutionsSM goes beyond standard urine drug testing to help physicians determine whether or not your claimants’ are taking their pain medication as prescribed. With this unique insight, you and your clinicians can evaluate claimants’ treatment—and improve the overall quality and cost-effectiveness of pain management.

Why Pain Medication Monitoring?

In the U.S. workforce, pain carries a high cost in both time and productivity. The productivity cost alone has an estimated value of more than $61 billion a year1. At the same time, a national study found that 71% of Workers' Compensation claimants on chronic opioid therapy (>3 months) aren’t taking their pain medication as prescribed2. This pervasive misuse or abuse is due to everything from simply choosing not to take their medication to taking too much medication because of inadequate pain control, abuse or addiction.

To help claimants get back to work, while managing their care efficiently, you need reliable information about their pain medication use. There is evidence that urine drug screens can identify aberrant opioid use and other substance use that otherwise is not apparent to the treating physician. In fact, ACOEM Guidelines recommend that injured workers receiving chronic opioid therapy be monitored through routine assessment that includes urine toxicology screens 3.

Ameritox—The Power to Understand More

As the leading provider of urine drug monitoring, only Ameritox’s pain medication monitoring solutionsSM can help physicians determine if a patient is taking his or her pain medication as prescribed. Ameritox identifies and quantifies specific drugs or metabolites found in each sample, providing the physician with the specific amount of drug and metabolite detected.  Ameritox then applies its patented methods for certain prescribed drugs to determine whether a patient’s normalized result falls within an expected range. After testing is complete, Ameritox Certifying Scientists review and validate each result for a final check of accuracy.  This information opens the door to a dialogue with treating physician to discuss how better outcomes can be achieved.

Ameritox pain medication monitoring solutions are an invaluable tool for better managing both injured workers’ care and costs.  Working together with clinicians, you can use this valuable knowledge to make more informed decisions about an injured worker’s care, so he or she can get back to work and back to life. Ameritox pain medication monitoring solutions are also important for the bottom line of your organization, providing efficient management of your cases and reducing the overall care costs due to non-compliant behaviors.

To learn how Ameritox can help you improve patient outcomes, reduce patient care costs due to non-compliant behaviors, and increase the return-to-work ratio, call our Workers’ Compensation Support Team at (866) 743-7147 or email: workerscomp@ameritox.com.

As a pioneer in pain medication monitoring, only Ameritox offers the comprehensive solutions case managers and clinicians need to manage pain patients’ cases efficiently and effectively. From our superior laboratory services and innovative technologies to our exceptional service and support, we provide vital information for improved chronic pain outcomes.

The Ameritox Rx GuardianSM Process

1.  Laboratory Testing and Proprietary Methods of Analysis

You can be assured that our specialized laboratory services provide the most sensitive and specific testing available. The Rx Guardian process identifies and quantifies the specific drug or metabolite for a broad range of controlled medications. Every initial positive result is confirmed. Our process exceeds the most demanding standards and may include the following tests:

  • Enzyme Immunoassay (EIA)
  • Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA)
  • Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS)
  • Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS/MS)

The Rx Guardian process also quantifies the specific drug or metabolite found in each sample, providing the physician with the specific amount of drug detected. Ameritox then applies its patented methods for certain prescribed drugs to determine whether a patient’s normalized result falls within an expected range for the some of the most common prescribed medications.

After testing is complete, Ameritox Certifying Scientists review and validate each result for a final check of accuracy.

2. Results:  The Rx Guardian Results Report

The comprehensive and easy-to-interpret Rx Guardian results report indicates where any test results may be inconsistent with the treatment plan—along with explanations of any findings. The Rx Guardian results report is the only report that can help physicians determine whether patients are taking their prescribed pain medications in a manner consistent with their prescribed regimen. In addition, experienced Ameritox Toxicology SpecialistsSM are available for consultation on results.

Unmatched Support for Payers and Providers

Ameritox provides unsurpassed support to help you and treating physicians get the most value from their pain medication monitoring. In addition to personalized assistance, we have developed a wide range of tools and extensive support including:

  • A dedicated Ameritox Workers’ Compensation team – for ongoing consultation, administrative and implementation support.
  • Comprehensive training – for nurse case managers, utilization reviewers and adjusters to maximize the value of pain medication monitoring and minimize the time required to monitor.
  • Training for physicians’ practices on pain medication monitoring, including implementation.
  • Access to experienced Ameritox Toxicology Specialists—available for consultation on any result.
  • Access to robust Ameritox Online ServicesSM around-the-clock for requisitions and reporting tools.
  • Benchmark reporting – statistics to benchmark and track patients within a practice or carrier sample.
  • Rx Guardian AutoReminderSM – computer-based tool to help providers and nurse case managers know when to test specific patients, based on the providers’ chosen protocol.
  • Online V-Tox Reports – supplemental data providing in-depth toxicology explanations for Rx Guardian results reports.
  • Non-Compliant Patient (NCP) Guide – tools for providers, claims adjusters, and nurse case managers to address concerns about non-compliance.

Only Ameritox combines expertise, laboratory science and innovation with exceptional service support. It’s a combination that’s proving essential for Workers’ Compensation carriers.

Notes

1. Stewart, WF, PhD, MPH; Ricci, S., ScD, MS; et al.: Lost Productive Time and Cost Due to Common Pain Conditions in the US Workforce, JAMA. 2003; 290:2443-2454.

2. Ameritox Internal Data, 2007

3. Harris JS, Sinnott PL, Holland JP, et al. Methodology to update the practice recommendations in the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine’s Occupational Medicine Practice Guidelines, Second Edition. J Occup Environ Med. 2008;50:282-95.