Initial Response to the Opioid Crisis: Availability of Buprenorphine and Warm Handoff in the ED

Authors

Lauren Selame, MD, Thomas Jefferson UniversityFollow
Benjamin H. Slovis, MD, MA, Thomas Jefferson UniversityFollow
Theodore Christopher, MD, FACEP, Thomas Jefferson UniversityFollow
Kory S. London, MD, Thomas Jefferson UniversityFollow

Files

Description

Background:

• The United States is in the midst of an opioid crisis.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has cited Emergency Departments (ED) as important centers for treatment and referral, including medication assisted treatment (MAT), which has been shown to be superior to motivational interviewing and referral alone.1,2
• While direct linkage to outpatient programs via the ED may be an opportunity to better serve this population, data on such “warm handoff” interventions are sparse.

Objective: We initiated an ED opioid use disorder (OUD) pathway, which aimed to initiate buprenorphine therapy and perform warm handoff directly into the community for treatment.

Publication Date

6-6-2019

City

Philadelphia

Keywords

quality improvement, opioid crisis, buprenorphine, emergency department, handoffs

Disciplines

Emergency Medicine | Medicine and Health Sciences

Comments

Presented at the 2019 House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference

Recommended Citation

Selame, MD, Lauren; Slovis, MD, MA, Benjamin H.; Christopher, MD, FACEP, Theodore; and London, MD, Kory S., "Initial Response to the Opioid Crisis: Availability of Buprenorphine and Warm Handoff in the ED" (2019). House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference (2016-2019). Poster 140.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/patientsafetyposters/140