It’s estimated that over 300,000 emergency room visits each year are due to opioid misuse. And it’s not just emergency rooms that are affected — workplaces are too. Employees misuse prescription medications to improve job performance, overcome lack of sleep, or to alleviate pain. Other employees are affected by the opioid crisis at home, when their family (children and aging parents) misuse as well.

There are clear implications for employee health, absenteeism, productivity, and safety. In late 2016, two national surveys indicated the need for more Rx misuse prevention in workplaces. Although 70 percent of employers are negatively affected by Rx misuse, less than 25 percent actually educate workers on prevention. Also, at least 30 percent of employers provide no access to alternative treatments that can be especially helpful in addressing pain.

Most company approaches to prescription drug abuse focus on harm reduction and risk mitigation, versus prevention, which begins with awareness. This reactive mind-set is not surprising given news stories on the crisis focus on the supply side (the over-prescription problem) and treatment. Moreover, standard drug testing only goes so far in addressing the problem, as these are, ostensibly, prescribed drugs.