- A Pennsylvania program that incorporates addiction treatment into emergency care for opioid use disorder could help limit the high risk of death for patients who overdose after they’re discharged, according to a study published in JAMA Health Forum. Emergency departments are increasingly encountering nonfatal opioid overdoses as the addiction crisis worsens, but it’s still rare for EDs to offer treatment like buprenorphine despite its ability to reduce overdose deaths and stabilize withdrawal. Pennsylvania’s Opioid Hospital Quality Improvement Program, which launched in 2019, offers state funding to pay incentives to hospitals that agree to implement certain treatment strategies, such as initiating buprenorphine treatment before patient discharge. (Article here)
March 28, 2023
Opioid/Substance Use Disorders | Tea Leaves