Psychiatric News (4/8) reports a study suggests that providing comprehensive care “increases the likelihood that inpatients with opioid use disorder (OUD) will not only initiate medications for OUD during hospitalization but connect with OUD care after discharge.” Researchers analyzed data from a clinical trial of the Substance Use Treatment and Recovery Team (START) addiction consult service, which is a “collaborative care model in which an addiction medicine specialist and a case management team provide a tailored intervention based on motivational interviewing, addiction-focused discharge planning, and one month of follow-up calls.” They found that “57.3% of patients receiving START initiated medications for OUD while they were hospitalized, compared with 26.7% of those who received usual care. In addition, 72% of START participants attended at least one OUD-related care visit within 30 days of discharge, compared with 48.1% of those who received usual care.” The study was published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Related Links:
— “Comprehensive Care Improves Chances of Hospitalized Patients Starting OUD Medications, Psychiatric News, April 8, 2025