Annals of emergency medicine
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Observational Study
Opioid Use During the Six Months After an Emergency Department Visit for Acute Pain: A Prospective Cohort Study.
Despite the frequent use of opioids to treat acute pain, the long-term risks and analgesic benefits of an opioid prescription for an individual emergency department (ED) patient with acute pain are still poorly understood and inadequately quantified. Our objective was to determine the frequency of recurrent or persistent opioid use during the 6 months after the ED visit METHODS: This was a prospective, observational cohort study of opioid-naive patients presenting to 2 EDs for acute pain who were prescribed an opioid at discharge. Patients were followed by telephone 6 months after the ED visit. Additionally, we reviewed the statewide prescription monitoring program database. Outcomes included frequency of recurrent and persistent opioid use and frequency of persistent moderate or severe pain 6 months after the ED visit. Persistent opioid use was defined as filling greater than or equal to 6 prescriptions during the 6-month study period. ⋯ Although 1 in 5 opioid-naive ED patients who received an opioid prescription for acute pain on ED discharge filled at least 2 opioid prescriptions in 6 months, only 1% had persistent opioid use. These patients with persistent opioid use were likely to report moderate or severe pain 6 months after the ED visit.
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We describe the prevalence, trends, and factors associated with repeated emergency department (ED) encounters for opioid usage across multiple, independent hospital systems. ⋯ The ED is increasingly a site utilized as the setting for repeated opioid-related care. Characteristics of the individual, encounter, and community associated with repeated opioid-related encounters may inform real-time risk-prediction tools in the ED setting. Additionally, the number of institutions to which the individual has presented may suggest the utility of health information exchange data and usage in the ED setting.
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Accountable care organizations are provider networks aiming to improve quality while reducing costs for populations. It is unknown how value-based care within accountable care organizations affects emergency medicine care delivery and payment. Our objective was to describe how accountable care has impacted emergency care redesign and payment. ⋯ Care redesign within accountable care organizations has focused on outpatient access and alternatives to hospitalization. However, there has been little influence on emergency medicine payment, which remains fee for service. Evidence-based policy solutions are urgently needed to inform the adoption of value-based payment for acute unscheduled care.
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The American Board of Emergency Medicine gathers extensive background information on Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited emergency medicine residency and fellowship programs, as well as the residents and fellows training in those programs. We present the 2020 annual report on the status of physicians training in ACGME-accredited emergency medicine training programs in the United States.