CWCI: Compound drugs are more potent, costly There are fewer prescriptions for compound drugs in the California workers' comp system these days. Nevertheless, payers are shelling out more money for them, according to a report by the California Workers' Compensation Institute.

The study focuses on the effect of legislative reforms intended to control the increase in prescriptions and costs of compounded pharmaceutical products in the state's workers' comp system.

"Compound drugs are created by combining, mixing, or altering two or more ingredients into a customized medication for an individual patient in response to a licensed practitioner's prescription," according to the CWCI report. "There is little evidence from clinical trials to support the use of many of the compound drugs dispensed to injured workers."

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