Assessment of Work Loss Associated With Prescription-Related Opioid Use Disorder: A Retropsective Analysis of Claims Data

OBJECTIVE: Quantify work loss and costs associated with prescription opioid use disorder (OUD) from the employer perspective. METHODS: Retrospective claims analysis to compare missed work days and associated costs between employees with and without an OUD diagnosis in a 12-month period. RESULTS: Two thousand three hundred eleven matched-pairs of employees were compared. The mean (SD) number of days missed while waiting for disability benefits (0.24 [1.4] vs 0.17 [1.0]; P = 0.035), absenteeism due to disability claims (9.5 [40.9] vs 5.6 [30.0]; P < 0.001), and medical visits (17.8 [18.5] vs 10.0 [12.4]; P < 0.001) was higher for employees with OUD compared with those without, resulting in higher mean (SD) indirect cost estimates of $8193 ($14,694) per employee (OUD) versus $5438 ($13,683) per employee (no OUD) (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Prescription OUD is associated with significant work loss and may pose considerable economic burden on employers.