Waltham, MA, May 21, 2026―A new Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) report finds that dermatological agents account for the largest share of prescription payments and are overwhelmingly dispensed through delivery pharmacies and physician dispensing channels.

In 20 of 31 study states, these two channels accounted for more than 70 percent of dermatological payments in the first quarter of 2025. In states with the highest shares of dermatological agent payments, these channels represented 80 to 95 percent of all prescription payments.

“Overall, our findings suggest that delivery pharmacies have become an increasingly important dispensing channel in many states, not only for dermatologicals,” said Ramona Tanabe, president and CEO of WCRI. “The study offers perspectives into which states had higher use of physician dispensing, where delivery pharmacies were more common, and which drug groups were driving prescription payment trends.

The report, Interstate Variation and Trends in Workers’ Compensation Drug Payments, 6th Edition—A WCRI FlashReport, covers 31 states, examines recent prescription drug payment trends by state and drug group, adds migraine drugs as a separate category, and includes new information about pharmacies that ship or deliver medications directly to injured workers, in addition to physician dispensing.

The study addresses the following questions:

  • Which states experienced increases in prescription drug payments?
  • Did any states curb the growth in dermatological payments?
  • Which drug groups are driving prescription payment trends in which states?
  • Which dispensing channels account for the largest share of payments?
  • How do prescription payments per claim vary across states?

The study, authored by Dr. Vennela Thumula, Te‑Chun Liu, and Dongchun Wang, is free for members and available to non-members for a fee.