Fewer Stars: Patient Satisfaction with U.S. Health Care Facilities Drops Post-Pandemic
Study of Yelp Reviews Reveals Patterns by Geography and Race
Opioid Epidemic
Blog Post
Chart of the Day: Rise in Patients with Opioid Use Disorder Leaving Hospital Prematurely
Untreated Withdrawal May Be the Cause, Researchers Say
Print:
LDI Senior and Associate Fellows Ashish Thakrar, Margaret (Maggie) Lowenstein, Ryan Greysen, and M. Kit Delgado found that more people with opioid use disorder are leaving the hospital prematurely (or before medically advised), compared to marginal increases for individuals admitted for other reasons. In the study, “Trends in Before Medically Advised Discharges for Patients with Opioid Use Disorder, 2016-2020,” the authors note that “patients who use drugs cite untreated withdrawal and pain as primary reasons for before medically advised discharge.” They suggest a need to study whether implementing methadone and buprenorphine treatment and adapting opioid withdrawal treatment for fentanyl withdrawal may help lower rates of premature discharges.
The study, “Trends in Before Medically Advised Discharges for Patients with Opioid Use Disorder, 2016-2020,” was published in December 2023 in JAMA. Authors include Ashish Thakrar, Margaret (Maggie) Lowenstein, Ryan Greysen, and M. Kit Delgado.
Author
Mackenzie Bolas
Policy Coordinator
More on the Opioid Epidemic
Ripple Effect: Five Ways The Dobbs Decision is Transforming Pregnancy and Pediatric Care
Higher Costs and Less Access Are Big Concerns, LDI Fellows Say
Hanming Fang Wins Best Article Award from Japanese Economic Review
Penn LDI Senior Fellow Paper Focused on the Mental Health of Older Chinese
A Small Gift Card Grew Diverse Enrollment for Trials in Children
Incentives Worked Better than Culturally Tailored Videos, LDI Fellows Found
The Missing Link to Regulate AI Systems in Health
We Need a System That Watches AI Care at the Bedside, Two LDI Fellows Say