The following editorial by local claimant attorney Gregory J. Hubachek and D. Kirkhoff Brainard is the third of a three-part series on the opioid crisis. Hubachek lays out his ideas for a modern approach to opioid drugs, including specific recommendations for Louisiana going forward.
The following editorial by local claimant attorney Gregory J. Hubachek and D. Kirkhoff Brainard is the second of a three-part series on the opioid crisis. Hubachek lays out his ideas for a modern approach to opioid drugs, including the concept of “integrative medicine.”
The following editorial by local claimant attorney Gregory J. Hubachek and D. Kirkhoff Brainard addresses the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) opioid prescribing guidelines and how they believe the guidelines’ scientific support is limited.
In the following editorial, Gary Kern of RiskSAVERS LLC addresses criticisms of the Second Injury Fund, its functionality and its assessments. Kern believes that despite its problems, we owe it to small employers and workers who have previously experienced an injury to have the Second Injury Fund in place in Louisiana.
This Tuesday, May 23rd, the Louisiana House of Representatives passed an ODG formulary bill for workers’ comp, 58-36. This morning, national industry publication WorkCompCentral (subscription required) published a piece which revealed that Governor John Bel Edwards will likely veto the bill if it reaches his desk. The following is Office of Workers’ Compensation Director Sheral Kellar’s response to the bill’s passage in the House and the WorkCompCentral article.
In the following guest post, Carlos Luna, Director of Government Affairs for Reed Group’s MDGuidelines, explores the experience of other states in implementing formularies and why the details of Louisiana’s system make it a poor fit for a Texas-style formulary.
The following guest post is by Dr. Douglas Lurie, a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon with Orthopaedic Associates of New Orleans. In the workers’ comp arena, Dr. Lurie has performed thousands of utilization reviews since the Medical Treatment Guidelines were implemented. He is also the National Medical Director for Propeer, a URAC-certified independent review organization. In this piece, Dr. Lurie explains how return to work can sometimes be the best medicine.
The recent Lafayette Bone & Joint Clinic v. LUBA case decided by the Louisiana Supreme Court sought to settle questions regarding employer choice of pharmacy (about which courts have differed). In the following guest post, Jeffrey Napolitano, attorney with Juge, Napolitano, Guilbeau, Ruli & Frieman representing LUBA in this case, explains the matter and implications for carriers moving forward.
The following guest post by local claimant attorney Gregory J. Hubachek and D. Kirkhoff Brainard is the second in a two part series addressing solutions to Louisiana’s opioid epidemic. It is one of several policy papers addressing key issues for discussion in the 2016 Legislative Session. Below, Hubachek and Brainard discuss alternatives to a closed formulary for curbing opioid abuse in our state, placing particular emphasis on prescription drug monitoring databases and alternative therapies.
In their second of several policy-oriented guest posts below, Gregory J. Hubachek and D. Kirkhoff Brainard discuss Louisiana’s relationship with the national conversation surrounding opioids and addiction and how workers’ comp plays into it.
