Bloomfield, Conn.-based Cigna is continuing its initiative to curb opioid use by encouraging medical practices to sign a pledge to limit opioid prescriptions and treat opioid overuse as a chronic condition.
The payer is asking the 160 large medical groups in Cigna's Collaborate Care arrangement to sign a pledge dovetailing the U.S. Surgeon Generals "Turn the Tide" pledge and the CDC's opioid prescribing guidelines. More than 82,000 physicians will be asked to take action to limit opioid use, and progress will be tracked in quarterly reviews. In addition, Cigna will use its claims data to alert physicians with prescribing patterns that do not align with CDC guidelines.
"Adopting this pledge is an opportunity to shine a light on one of the biggest crises we face in healthcare today and enables us to work collaboratively with our clinical partners to find effective solutions," Dick Salmon, MD, Cigna's vice president and national medical executive for performance measurement and improvement, said in a prepared statement.
Participating providers include Chicago-based Northwestern Medicine Physician Partners, Houston-based Texas Children's Pediatrics and Kingsport, Tenn.-based Wellmont Medical Associates, among others. The pledge aligns with Cigna's goal to lower customers' opioid use by 25 percent in three years. In October the insurer also dropped pre-authorization requirements for anti-addiction prescription drugs that curb opioid cravings.