The release said some of these drugs include prescription drugs such as Vicodin, OxyContin and Percocet.
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Still, Cummins Chief Medical Director Dexter Shurney says while it may seem less costly for companies like his to simply fire prescription drug abusers, rather than help them recover, that’s not true in the long run.
The study, which was compiled by the National Safety Council, shows that 80% of IN employers have been impacted by prescription drug abuse.
Zoeller said 200 businesses were surveyed from May through August. He said the survey’s results show that prescription drug woes are “taking a toll on the workforce” in IN, a top manufacturing state. IN was the first state to undergo the polling and will be used as a model for other states interested in addressing prescription drug abuse in the workplace.
Hersman says the National Safety Council has several recommended steps employers should take. “We can address the problems, we also need to be part of the solutions”. Drug poisonings, largely from opioid painkillers, have increased in IN since 1999 to the point where they now eclipse auto crashes as the leading cause of injury death among adults.
The survey also found 19 percent of companies had injuries or near-misses related to prescription drug abuse.
That research arose from a partnership between the National Safety Council and Zoeller’s Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force.
“The most widely used and fatalized used drug is not being picked up in most companies’ drug screening”, said Hersman.
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“I think if they focused on the treatment and rehabilitation and protecting the safety in the workplace, that’s where they ought to spend their attention”, said Zoeller.
