Key findings
![Percentage of Injured Employees Who Said They Had Problems or No Problems Receiving the Prescription Drugs They Thought Were Necessary for Their Work-Related Injuries](../../artwork/dwc/fm191.png)
![Reasons Injured Employees Gave for Problems They Experienced Receiving the Prescription Drugs They Thought Were Necessary for Their Work-Related Injuries](../../artwork/dwc/fm192.png)
- Return-to-work rates for network injured employees consistently higher than for non-network injured employees after 2009.
- Return-to-work rate for network injured employees averaged 90 percent before formulary took effect and 94 percent after.
- Return-to-work rate for non-network injured employees averaged 87 percent before formulary took effect and 90 percent after.
![Injured Employee Return-to-Work Rates, by Injury Year](../../artwork/dwc/fm193.png)
![Number of Claims Receiving Opioid Prescriptions with 90+ Morphine Milligram Equivalents (MMEs)/Day, by Service Year](../../artwork/dwc/fm194.png)
- Mental functioning scores for network injured employees averaged 51.2 before and 51.6 after the formulary went into effect. These scores were higher in 2016 than in any other year since implementing the formulary.
- Mental functioning scores for non-network injured employees averaged 50.0 before and 49.6 after the formulary went into effect. These scores were higher in 2016 than in any other year since implementing the formulary.
- Mental functioning scores for network injured employees were consistently higher than for the non-network injured employees and the U.S. population.
![Injured Employee Mental Functioning Scores, by Injury Year](../../artwork/dwc/fm195.png)
- Mental functioning scores for network injured employees averaged 51.2 before and 51.6 after the formulary went into effect. These scores were higher in 2016 than in any other year since implementing the formulary.
- Mental functioning scores for non-network injured employees averaged 50.0 before and 49.6 after the formulary went into effect. These scores were higher in 2016 than in any other year since implementing the formulary.
- Mental functioning scores for network injured employees were consistently higher than for the non-network injured employees and the U.S. population.
![Injured Employee Physical Functioning Scores, by Injury Year](../../artwork/dwc/fm196.png)
DWC implemented the pharmacy closed formulary for legacy claims in 2013.
DWC created a process to allow a prescribing doctor or pharmacy to obtain a medical interlocutory order (MIO) when an insurance carrier denies preauthorization of previously prescribed drugs. An MIO allows an injured employee to continue using the drug throughout the duration of the dispute process.
As of September 2019, 60 percent of the Medical Interlocutory Orders (MIO) requested were approved.
![Medical Interlocutory Orders for Legacy Claims](../../artwork/dwc/fm197.png)
![79% got prescriptions they needed; 18,000 fewer claims with high-dose opioids; Return-to-work rates increased to 94%; Medical disputes down 38%.](../../artwork/dwc/fm198.jpg)