The Authors’ Own Words: Alcohol, Marijuana, and Opioid Use Disorders: 5-Year Patterns and Characteristics of Emergency Department Encounters

The Authors’ Own Words:

We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

Alcohol, Marijuana, and Opioid Use Disorders: 5-Year Patterns and Characteristics of Emergency Department Encounters

Amber L. Bahorik, PhD; Derek D. Satre, PhD; Andrea H. Kline-Simon, MS; Constance M. Weisner, DrPH, MSW; Kelly C. Young-Wolff, PhD, MPH; & Cynthia I. Campbell, PhD

Substance Abuse Vol. 39, Iss. 1, 2018

“Our study highlights that emergency department (ED) settings offer critical opportunities for clinicians to identify and intervene on patients with alcohol, marijuana, and opioid use disorders to initiate treatment, with those who have opioid use disorders having the highest ED use and potentially the greatest treatment needs. Devoting more health resources to providing training for initiating ED-based treatments for patients who have opioid use disorders in heath-systems, such as ED-initiated buprenorphine and referral to substance use disorder treatment, may be a step toward improving health outcomes and reducing ED visits in this population.”