State Investment in Emergency Department Buprenorphine
Opioid overdose continues to be the leading cause of death due to injury in the US. Recent data from the Drug Abuse Warning Network estimated 882 000 emergency department (ED) opioid-related visits in 2023, a rate of 263 per 100 000 visits, with the highest rates among Black individuals (425 per 100 000). Access to treatment with medications for opioid use disorder, specifically buprenorphine, continues to be challenging for patients in active addiction, and these disparities by race are widening. Geographic disparities also exist. In many states, rural patients with opioid use disorder have worse outcomes than urban patients. Rural hospitals are also less likely to offer treatments, such as addiction medicine consultation and medications for opioid use disorder. Thus, the ED is a logical setting to provide equitable substance use treatment access and medication initiation, yet it continues to be underused and underfunded.
Opioid overdose continues to be the leading cause of death due to injury in the US. Recent data from the Drug Abuse Warning Network estimated 882 000 emergency department (ED) opioid-related visits in 2023, a rate of 263 per 100 000 visits, with the highest rates among Black individuals (425 per 100 000). Access to treatment with medications for opioid use disorder, specifically buprenorphine, continues to be challenging for patients in active addiction, and these disparities by race are widening. Geographic disparities also exist. In many states, rural patients with opioid use disorder have worse outcomes than urban patients. Rural hospitals are also less likely to offer treatments, such as addiction medicine consultation and medications for opioid use disorder. Thus, the ED is a logical setting to provide equitable substance use treatment access and medication initiation, yet it continues to be underused and underfunded.
