Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health

Learning Objectives: To train EM residents to: •Screen and identify patients with OUD •Manage OUD by implementing evidence-based practices in EM, including initiating buprenorphine for patients in moderate to severe withdrawal •Support the transition of patients with OUD to long-term care for ongoing treatment.

Introduction: Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a chronic medical condition with alarming repercussions, including death and disability. Although, healthcare organizations, nationwide, have launched multiple initiatives to put an end to this epidemic, deaths related to opioids continue to be on the rise. More specifically, initiatives that involve abstinence have been shown to be less effective and are associated with high rates of relapse, including detoxification, rehab, 12-step programs, and Narcotics Anonymous. Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD), however, seems to be a promising approach to achieve recovery and reduce relapse. Our institution received a grant from the Ohio Department of Health to implement a program, called SAFER, that provides comprehensive care for patients with OUD presenting to our emergency department (ED). Our goal is to maximize the involvement of emergency medicine (EM) residents in implementing this program.

Curricular Design: The residency leadership identified three resident champions, who were involved in the process of developing and implementing SAFER in our ED, which will be launching in December 2021. The resident champions were trained by the SAFER educational specialist team. Through a train-the-trainer model, the champions will be educating their co-residents on the process of identifying the patients that can benefit from this comprehensive care program and ensuring their enrollment. This is achieved through a PowerPoint educational module that introduced the residents to the program followed by weekly updates on the evolution of the program during the didactics.

Impact/Effectiveness: We believe that involving the EM residents in this program will help improve the outcomes of patients with OUD, including reducing opioid overdose deaths, increasing retention in treatment, and decreasing relapse. We will be utilizing quantitative assessment tools to examine the effectiveness of this program.