Improved Emergency Medicine Physician Attitudes Towards Individuals with Opioid Use Disorder Following Naloxone Kit Training

Every day in the United States, 130 people die of opioid-related causes [1]. In 2017, there were 47,600 overdose deaths related to opioids, which accounted for approximately two-thirds of all drug overdose deaths that year [2]. Patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) who present to emergency departments are especially vulnerable, as they are at higher risk for fatal overdose, trauma and suicide, than patients not seen in emergency departments [4,5,32,33]. Despite the need for increased hospital engagement in mortality-reducing efforts, it stands that many physicians are unfamiliar with addiction treatment best practices and also generally hold negative attitudes towards patients with substance use disorders (SUDs).
Source: The American Journal of Emergency Medicine - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Source Type: research