SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-Initiating Inpatient Treatment for Opiod Use Disorder

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Northwell Health described an initiative to improve inpatient treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) in response to rising opioid harm, including a 1040% increase in synthetic opioid deaths from 2013–2019 and a 64% rise in opioid-related hospital admissions from 2005–2014. The project noted that opioid detoxification can reduce tolerance and increase overdose risk, while opioid antagonist therapy is safe and effective but underused. It also highlighted that hospitalized patients with OUD are often underrecognized and undertreated.<br /><br />The goal was to improve recognition of OUD, create a consistent interdisciplinary treatment approach, and monitor progress. The intervention included staff education for nursing, social work, and hospitalists; identifying physicians willing to prescribe Suboxone; establishing a screening process for OUD; and using social work consultation with SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment). If patients were interested in opioid agonist therapy, a physician consultation was arranged and buprenorphine-naloxone was prescribed. Patients started on Suboxone were also offered outpatient follow-up after discharge.<br /><br />Results showed a 94% increase in inpatient buprenorphine-naloxone prescriptions after implementation. Nearly half of prescriptions (48%) were for newly identified patients with OUD, while 52% continued outpatient regimens. In addition, 85% of patients had an outpatient follow-up appointment arranged at discharge.<br /><br />Next steps included increasing hospitalist comfort with prescribing buprenorphine-naloxone, promoting the Omnibus bill allowing more practitioners to prescribe it without a waiver, strengthening outpatient partnerships, and improving inpatient OUD screening.

Asset Subtitle

Sanjeev Sharma

Meta Tag

Author List Javier Garcia, Lindsey Frank, Sanjeev Sharma, Zubair Ali

Category Innovations

Concept Opioid Use Disorder

Concept Buprenorphine-Naloxone

Concept Inpatient Treatment Pathway

Concept Discharge Planning

Concept Outpatient Follow-up

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization Northwell Health, South Shore University Hospital

Presenting Author Sanjeev Sharma

Track Other

Keywords

opioid use disorder

inpatient treatment

buprenorphine-naloxone

Suboxone

hospitalized patients

screening process

SBIRT

opioid antagonist therapy

interdisciplinary care

outpatient follow-up

Opioid Use Disorder

Buprenorphine-Naloxone

Inpatient Treatment Pathway

Discharge Planning

Outpatient Follow-up