Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder in ' Bridge ' Clinics Offers Some Advantages, Study Finds

Hospitalized patients with opioid use disorder who were referred to an on-site clinic that provides wraparound services during the transition to outpatient care (a bridge clinic) reported fewer overdoses and more refills of medications like buprenorphine in the weeks following discharge, astudy inJAMA Network Open found. However, the use of the bridge clinic was not associated with a faster discharge compared with usual opioid use disorder (OUD) care, nor did it reduce hospital readmissions or health care costs.“Bridge clinics offer presumed care advantages, including timely provision of [medications] while a long-term clinician is identified, and notwithstanding other barriers, including stigma, they may offer the ability to discharge patients early,” wrote David Marcovitz, M.D., of the Vanderbilt Uni versity School of Medicine and colleagues.Marcovitz and colleagues recruited 335 hospitalized adults with OUD (median age of 38) who were being seen in an addiction consultation service. Patients were randomized to receive usual care or care in the bridge clinic, which was co-located with the addiction consultation service. Patients assigned to the bridge clinic received enhanced case management during and after their hospitalizations, as well as a buprenorphine-naloxone prescription at discharge. They were asked to present weekly to the bridge clinic for the first eight weeks, then twice monthly based on their clinical presentations. Patients in the usual care group were r...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Bridge clinic buprenorphine length of stay medications for opioid use disorder MOUD naloxone Vanderbilt Source Type: research