A CWCI Report to the Industry analyzes 2017-2023 opioid prescription data extracted from the California Department of Justices Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) database to track opioid utilization in the state, noting the percentage change in the number of opioid patients overall and within the workers compensation system from 2017 through 2023. The report measures changes in the average strength of the daily dose of morphine equivalents (the morphine equivalent dose or MED) and the average duration of opioid use for workers comp opioid patients and compares the results to the treatment guideline recommended levels to identify the proportion of patients whose opioid use exceeded guideline recommendations and how these proportions changed over time.
