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An analysis published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine shows that the emergency department is increasingly being used as the patient’s best or only treatment option for opioid use disorder (OUD). The prevalence of patients who visited emergency departments at four Indiana hospital systems for repeat opioid-related emergencies increased from 8.8 percent of all opioid-related visits in 2012 to 34.1 percent in 2017. More effective use of health information could result in more efficient care for these patients.
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This study works to validate the use of statistical methods to estimate true numbers of opioid-involved overdose deaths by using a detailed county-level database of linked toxicology and vital records data. The data used is from Marion County, Indiana, from 2011-2016. Estimates deviated from the true number of opioid-involved overdose deaths by 3 percent and increased in accuracy. This imputation method could lead to more accurate numbers of opioid-involved overdose deaths in the future.
Deaths involving fentanyl analogs, such as carfentanil, have increased the severity of the opioid overdose epidemic in Florida. From January 2016 to December 2017, 224 of Florida’s 1,181 carfentanil-involved fatal overdoses occurred in the Sarasota area and spread to other areas of Florida. With the implementation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Enhance State Overdose Surveillance Program and Overdose Data to Action funding (which Indiana also receives), there will be more efficient responses and allowance for the deployment of necessary resources to prevent future overdose deaths.
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