🔒Ending a Vicious Cycle: The Hartford’s partnership with Yale seeks to help businesses combat addiction, pain and stigma

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Property and casualty insurer The Hartford has partnered with the Yale School of Medicine to launch a new program focused on addiction, pain management and stigma, meant to help reverse staggering workplace trends that result in lost productivity and, in some cases, death.

The partnership with the Yale Program in Addiction Medicine involves training medical providers to better treat injured workers and curb the opioid crisis, which last year led to a record level of overdose deaths in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 107,000 people died of a drug overdose in 2021, with 75% involving an opioid.

Dr. David Fiellin, a professor at the Yale School of Medicine, hopes that businesses will partner with clinical experts, like those at the Yale Program in Addiction Medicine, to learn more about addiction and life-saving treatments.

“The role of organizational leadership in helping to reduce the stigma around the issues of substance use and addiction among workers cannot be understated, especially in the wake of the opioid epidemic and COVID pandemic,” Fiellin said.

The Hartford’s Chairman and CEO Christopher Swift said a better understanding of the nexus between workplace injuries and addiction will not only save lives but also help companies’ bottom lines.

“Employers who prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion, invest in employee mental health and lead with empathy will differentiate themselves in the marketplace, achieve better business outcomes and help millions of Americans enjoy healthier lives,” Swift said in an interview with the Hartford Business Journal.

Stigma free

Similar scenarios play out across the country: A worker suffers an injury and is prescribed medication, such as an opioid, to treat the pain. The worker may develop substance use disorder, if the medication interferes with their life and they continue using it despite those consequences.

The employee may avoid treatment due to feelings of shame, guilt and the fear of losing their job. As their addiction festers, the effects can ripple throughout the business, lowering productivity and morale.

Injuries from slips and falls are a leading cause of work-related injury and disability — and they’re frequently managed with medications that can impact a worker’s ability to work safely.

Connecticut employers reported 33,300 nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2020, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Of those incidents, nearly 70% (22,800) were of a severe nature, involving days away from work, job transfer or restriction.

Injuries were most common in the trade, transportation, utilities, education and health services sectors, BLS data shows.

“It can become a cyclical problem from injury to medication, or substance use back to increased risk of injury at work,” said Dr. Adam Seidner, The Hartford’s chief medical officer.

Unfortunately, some workers die before they’re able to receive appropriate treatment. Swift said science and empathy are needed to address the problem.

Attorney Joan Feldman, chair of Shipman & Goodwin’s health law practice group, said there is a “tremendous need” for substance use disorder services across the nation and that demand for behavioral health and substance use disorder clinicians is greater than ever.

“Early identification, education and removal of stigma in the workplace will be an important first step to getting individuals the treatment they need before the problems impact the employee’s performance and personal well-being,” Feldman said.

Bottom-line impact

The Yale Program in Addiction Medicine’s training curriculum, developed by Fiellin and Dr. Jeanette Tetrault, helps clinicians better understand opioids and work-related injuries, identify and treat acute and chronic pain, and assess substance and opioid use disorders among injured workers.

“The focus on work-related injury, pain and addiction in the training is unique,” Fiellin said. “These are three conditions that are remarkably common. However, healthcare professionals rarely receive formal training in each and even less commonly in the intersection of all three.”

The curriculum draws from an interprofessional viewpoint that includes primary care, occupational medicine, clinical psychology and addiction medicine to change the trajectory of work-related injuries, he explained.

Seidner, who served as a consultant to the Yale team, wanted the curriculum to focus on improving workers’ ability to do their jobs, preventing chronic pain through acute pain management and enabling a safe return to work following a workplace injury.

“Substances can impact one’s cognitive abilities, including perception and reaction time,” Seidner said. “A decrease in perception and reaction time can increase one’s risk of workplace injuries and even death.”

As a workers’ compensation and disability insurer, The Hartford knows the problem too well. Swift said the ongoing partnership with Yale reflects the company’s belief that efforts by government, businesses, academia and neighborhood organizations are necessary to end the opioid crisis.

The Hartford’s research shows a direct correlation between employee mental well-being, mental health support and the company’s net income, Swift said. A national survey conducted this year found 71% of U.S. employers feel the deteriorating mental health of their workforce is having a negative financial impact on their company.

Two-thirds of employers feel substance misuse and addiction is a significant workplace issue, a 30% jump since March 2020, he added.

“Reducing stigma in the workplace is paramount to improving the lives of millions of Americans, and I encourage business leaders to create stigma-free company cultures, increase access to mental health and addiction resources and partner with public policymakers on solutions,” Swift said.

The Yale Program in Addiction Medicine features training modules including slides, lectures and interactive discussions about patient cases. Fiellin’s team conducted an in-depth virtual training session for 25 clinicians in June. Participants gave positive feedback and demonstrated a knowledge gain based on pre- and post-training assessment scores, he said.

The Yale team will refine and update the curriculum, conduct additional virtual and in-person training sessions and teach more instructors to conduct the sessions.

The Hartford launched the partnership with the Yale School of Medicine last year with a $150,000 unrestricted gift to the school. This year, the company provided $200,000.