Opioids abuse costs employers a bundle.

• Position: The Workplace

Opioid abusers cost employers nearly twice as much in medical expenses as nonabusers. The national economic burden of prescription opioid overdoses, abuse, and dependence keeps rising. Of those costs, $26,100,000,000 goes to health care; $21,500,000,000 to overdose fatalities; $20,400,000,000 to lost productivity; $7,700,000,000 to criminal justice; and $2,800,000,000 to substance abuse treatment. Employers absorb a significant proportion of these costs.

A study by Castlight Health, San Francisco, Calif., found that 33% of opioid prescriptions are being abused. While only 4.5% of patients who received a prescription for narcotic painkillers are abusing them, those individuals account for 32% of total opioid prescriptions and 40% of opioid prescription spending. In addition, employers pay an average of $19,450 per year in medical costs for opioid users, compared to $10,853 for nonusers.

"Most workplace drug policies focus on deterring illicit drug use, but fewer address misuse of prescription drugs," notes Will Wesch, director of Admissions for Novus Medical Detox Center, New Port Richey, Fla. "Many employers avoid the topic out of concern for employees' privacy or the mistaken belief that legitimately prescribed medications don't pose a threat to workplace safety or productivity. However, the statistics tell another story."

A poll by the National Safety Council, Itasca, III., found...