MOUD in the ED

FOR IMPLEMENTATION

MOUD in the ED

A doctor standing next to a seated patient

Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a chronic medical condition that presents with life threatening and decompensating symptoms. Though OUD poses significant risk to individual and public health, it can be treated effectively.

 

However, that treatment is not yet routine in emergency department and hospital settings.

This gap in treatment and referral is significant, especially considering this population is at a high risk for poor health outcomes and that EDs are high impact settings.

The American College of Emergency Physicians published consensus recommendations on the treatment of opioid use disorder in the emergency department in 2021, templating and endorsing this best practice.

  • Evidence has long demonstrated that medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) is an effective treatment, reducing mortality, disease transmission, and criminal-legal system interactions.
  • MOUD is the only treatment for OUD associated with reduced morbidity and mortality and does not need to be combined with behavioral health interventions to be effective.
  • Initiating buprenorphine in the emergency department increases retention in treatment, decreases opioid use, and decreases system costs.
  • Emergency physicians can translate this evidence into care delivery in their departments, furthering evidence-based practice, health equity, and addressing a national public health crisis by providing medications for opioid use disorder to this vulnerable population.
     

Emergency physicians can translate this evidence into care delivery in their departments, furthering evidence-based practice, health equity, and addressing a national public health crisis by providing medications for opioid use disorder to this vulnerable population.