Initiating Medication for Opioid Use Disorder in the ED Improves Success with Ongoing Treatment

As part of Yale New Haven Health System’s (YNHHS) Emergency Department-Initiated Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder (EMBED) program, a team developed tools in the electronic health record (EHR) that help clinicians identify patients with potential opioid use disorder (OUD) in the ED, discuss medication options with them, and initiate buprenorphine treatment before patients leave the hospital. In a study, YNHHS researchers found that patients who were prescribed buprenorphine as part of this program were 39% more likely to be engaged in addiction treatment two months after an ED overdose visit than patients who received only a referral to future outpatient treatment.

How They Did It

• Designed tools in Epic for treating opioid use disorder (OUD) in the emergency department
• Helped clinicians manage conversations about OUD using an interactive tool with discussion points
• Established relationships with community organizations to connect patients with long-term OUD treatment

Read the full article on EpicShare