In Hospital Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder: Clinician Perspectives and Current Practices

The investigators implemented a multi-site hospital-based opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment intervention across 12 hospitals in Colorado to address an OUD treatment gap among hospitalized adults with OUD. The intervention included nurse driven universal screening for unhealthy substance use with a social work referral for a brief intervention when indicted, electronic health record-embedded protocols to assess for opioid withdrawal and to direct buprenorphine initiation, methadone orders for opioid withdrawal symptoms, and embedded links for post discharge addiction treatment referral. It also included clinician education and nursing education via video conference or in-person lectures. The intervention was supported by the health system Chief Medical Officer and involved subject matters expertise and representation from nursing leaders, social work leaders, and hospital medicine leaders. Outcomes assess include a pre/post implementation assessment of 1) change in buprenorphine prescribed in hospital and 2) discharge, 3) change in naloxone prescribed, 4) change in hospital based methadone prescribing, and 5) change in average clinical opioid withdrawal scale (COWS) score. investigators also assessed a pre/post survey of hospitalists physicians and advanced practice providers to assess their perception of hospital based OUD treatment provision.