OpiSafe

Calling all Colorado Hospital Association members! Join clinicians from Children’s Hospital ColoradoColorado and Denver Health for an opioid stewardship webinar on Monday, June 14 from noon - 1 p.m. They will share their experiences on stewardship and utilizing OpiSafe in their workflows. The session is intended for prescribing clinicians, physician leaders, quality personnel, and hospital administrators. CHA members can register here: https://lnkd.in/g6UTpBr

A new study out of Wake Forest found opioid-induced respiratory depression significantly increases hospital costs. Patients with at least one event of opioid-induced respiratory depression were hospitalized an average of six days and related costs topped $21,000.

Opioid-induced respiratory depression significantly increases hospital costs Researchers reported that patients who experienced at least one opioid-induced respiratory depression event on a hospital’s general care floor spent about 6 days in the hospital and had more than $21,000 in related costs.

Wow. We’ve all heard that drug overdose deaths jumped significantly in 2020, graphs like this one showing what’s happening in Colorado (estimates based on provisional data) still shock us. A drill-down on drug type reflected an even steeper increase in opioid overdose deaths.

The new Administration is doubling down on its response to the opioid epidemic with the latest discretionary funding request for FY '22. The $10.7B request -- which represents a significant $3.9B increase over '21 allocations -- aims to "support research, prevention, treatment, and recovery support services, with targeted investments to support populations with unique needs, including Native Americans, older Americans, and rural populations." The request included several additional investments in public health and other crisis-related needs.