California Ca Bridge Program Expands Opioid Treatment Across Most Emergency Departments

A broad study shows that California's CA Bridge programme has successfully implemented opioid usage upset curen services crossed much than 80% of nan state's emergency departments, reaching complete 165,000 patients and providing astir 45,000 instances of buprenorphine curen from July 2022 done December 2023 alone. The inaugural proves that emergency departments tin service arsenic a captious introduction constituent for addiction attraction erstwhile provided pinch due funding, training, and diligent navigation support.

Why it matters

The opioid situation continues to devastate communities crossed America, pinch emergency departments treating ample numbers of group pinch opioid usage upset but astir wellness systems failing to supply evidence-based addiction care. Nationally, only 5.7% to 11.5% of emergency section patients pinch opioid usage upset person medications for opioid usage disorder, life-saving medications that trim overdose deaths and amended curen outcomes. CA Bridge represents nan largest state-based emergency section addiction curen inaugural successful nan United States, offering a imaginable roadmap for nationwide implementation.

What nan study did

Researchers analyzed information from 252 California hospitals participating successful CA Bridge from July 2022 done December 2023. The programme provided hospitals pinch $120,000 successful funding, method assistance, and training to prosecute diligent navigators, support objective champions, and found addiction curen pathways. Using assistance reporting information and California's controlled substances prescribing database, researchers tracked diligent navigator encounters, buprenorphine treatments, and consequent attraction engagement crossed rural, urban, public, and backstage hospitals.

What they found

The programme achieved singular scope and effectiveness:

• From June 2022 done December 2023 astatine CA Bridge participating hospitals:
  • Patient navigators engaged patients pinch opioid usage disorders successful complete 165,671 emergency section visits.
  • Patient engagement astatine nationalist hospitals was astir 80% higher than nationalist hospitals. 
  • Provision of buprenorphine curen astatine nationalist hospitals was astir 50% higher than backstage hospitals.
• In 2022, crossed each California EDs:
  • 119,271 group received a medicine for buprenorphine for curen of opioid usage disorder, of whom 5,150 group (4.3 percent) received that medicine from an emergency medicine clinician.
  • Among nan 58,399 group receiving a first-time buprenorphine prescription, 5.3% were started by emergency clinicians.
  • There were 1,737 unsocial emergency clinician prescribers, pinch astir 22% caller to prescribing buprenorphine.
  • About 36% of patients who received an buprenorphine medicine successful nan emergency section had a follow-up medicine wrong 40 days.
  • Patients received a median 58 days of uninterrupted curen wrong 1 period of receiving a buprenorphine successful nan emergency department.

What's next

The occurrence of CA Bridge demonstrates that emergency departments tin beryllium transformed into effective sites for initiation of addiction curen and linkage to attraction care, but researchers stress nan request for sustainable financing and value measures to support nationwide dissemination. Future activity should attraction connected knowing implementation strategies utilized by high-performing sites, processing standardized value metrics for emergency addiction care, and exploring akin initiatives for different constituent usage disorders including methamphetamine and alcohol. The program's exemplary could pass nationalist argumentation discussions astir expanding emergency section addiction services.

From nan experts

"CA Bridge has helped toggle shape emergency attraction passim California to see low-barrier buprenorphine for opioid usage disorder. The programme has developed a successful exemplary for scaling ED addiction attraction crossed divers believe settings, pinch precocious take and services provision," said Dr. Elizabeth Samuels, lead writer of nan study and interrogator astatine UCLA. "EDs are a strategical constituent of introduction into nan addiction attraction system, and our findings show that pinch method assistance, training, and funding, take and services proviso are high."

About nan study

"Increasing Emergency Department Patient Navigation and Buprenorphine Use: A Model for Low-Barrier Treatment." The study appears successful nan Health Affairs September 2025 rumor connected "Insights About nan Opioid Crisis," which includes nan latest empirical investigation and argumentation perspectives, disposable astatine https://www.healthaffairs.org/opioids.