Hospitalizations related to opioid abuse and dependence both with and without associated serious infections significantly increased from 2002 to 2012. Inpatient charges quadrupled during this time.
Hospitalizations related to opioid abuse and dependence both with and without associated serious infections significantly increased from 2002 to 2012, according to a new study in Health Affairs. There was a quadrupling of inpatient charges, reaching almost $15 billion, for opioid abuse- and dependence-related hospitalizations, and more than $700 million for those related to associated infection in 2012. Medicaid was the most common primary payer for both types of hospitalizations, the study found.
Study authors Matthew V. Ronan, MD, and Shoshana Herzig, MD, noted that although serious infection is a recognized complication of intravenous (IV) drug abuse and a major cause of morbidity and mortality among IV drug users, trends in rates of serious infection and the associated costs related to opioid use and dependence have not been studied previously. Ronan is a hospitalist at West Roxbury Medical Center, Veterans Health Administration in Boston and Herzig is a hospitalist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston.
Hospitalizations related to opioid abuse/dependence with and without associated serious infections significantly increased from 2002 to 2012 from 301,707 to 520,275 and from 3421 to 6535, respectively. Infections associated with opioid use include endocarditis and pyogenic spinal infections.
The study used discharge data from 2002 and 2012 from the National Inpatient Sample, developed for the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the largest publicly available, all-payer, national inpatient database in the United States. The authors performed 2 sensitivity analyses in which they recalculated total hospitalization estimates after restricting the patient cohort to young patients without other strong risk factors for these types of infections.
The data showed that total charges for hospitalizations related to opioid abuse/dependence and associated infections have increased out of proportion to the rate of increase in number of hospitalizations for these conditions over the same time period, even when inflation is accounted for. Ronan and Herzig wrote that future research is needed to investigate the factors behind the exponentially rising charges. In addition, the study suggests that the financial burden largely falls on government-funded agencies, patients, and hospitals because only 20% of discharges related to opioid abuse/dependence and 14% of discharges with associated infections were covered by private insurance.
“Our results characterize the financial burden on the healthcare system related to opioid abuse/dependence and one of the more serious downstream complications of this epidemic: serious infection,” the authors wrote. “The findings have important implications for the hospitals and government agencies that disproportionately shoulder these costs, and for clinicians, researchers, and policymakers interested in estimating the potential impact of targeted public health interventions on a national level.”
Empowering Community Health Through Wellness and Faith
April 23rd 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are bringing you a special month-long podcast series with our Strategic Alliance Partner, UPMC Health Plan. In the third episode, Camille Clarke-Smith, EdD, MS, CHES, CPT, discusses approaching community health holistically through spiritual and community engagement.
Listen
What We’re Reading: Abortion Privacy Rules; Alzheimer Drug Hurdles; Nursing Home Staffing Overhaul
April 23rd 2024New health privacy rules aim to protect patients and providers in an evolving abortion landscape; some physicians express concerns about efficacy, risks, and entrenched beliefs in treating Alzheimer disease; CMS addresses longstanding staffing deficits in nursing homes.
Read More
Overcoming Employment Barriers for Lasting Social Impact: Freedom House 2.0 and Pathways to Work
April 16th 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are bringing you a special month-long podcast series with our Strategic Alliance Partner, UPMC Health Plan. Welcome to our second episode, in which we learn all about Freedom House 2.0 and the Pathways to Work program.
Listen
Survey Results Reveal Potential Factors Slowing the Decline in Cardiovascular Mortality Rate
April 23rd 2024Research indicated that worsened glycemic, blood pressure, and obesity control, as well as increased alcohol consumption, leveled lipid control, and persistent socioeconomic disparities may have contributed to the decelerated cardiovascular mortality decline in recent years.
Read More
Award-Winning Poster Presentations From AMCP 2024
April 23rd 2024At the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) 2024 annual meeting, multiple poster presentations concerned with health equity, data collection, glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists, and more were acknowledged for their originality, relevance, clarity, bias, and quality.
Read More