Skip to main content

Disparities Exist in Outpatient Referrals for Opioid Use Disorder

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on July 8, 2025.

via HealthDay

MONDAY, July 7, 2025 -- Black patients presenting to the emergency department for an opioid overdose are less likely to receive outpatient referrals for opioid use disorder (OUD), according to a study published online July 2 in JAMA Network Open.

Siri Shastry, M.D., from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, and colleagues examined racial and ethnic disparities in treatment referral rates in emergency department patients with opioid overdose. The analysis included data from 10 hospital sites (1,683 patients) participating in the Toxicology Investigators Consortium Fentalog Study (Sept. 21, 2020, to Nov. 11, 2023).

The researchers found that 17.8 percent of patients presenting to the emergency department received a referral for outpatient treatment, 42.4 percent received a naloxone kit or prescription, and 8.4 percent received a buprenorphine prescription. Black patients had a decreased likelihood of outpatient treatment referral (adjusted odds ratio, 0.67) compared with White patients. Hospital admission was associated with an increased likelihood of outpatient treatment referral (adjusted odds ratio, 3.13). There was geographic variation noted for all primary and secondary outcomes.

"In this study, Black patients were less likely to receive outpatient referrals for OUD," the authors write. "These findings underscore the need for targeted interventions to address racial disparities in emergency department care for OUD, particularly in enhancing referral processes."

Abstract/Full Text

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

Random Forest AI Model Superior for Inpatient Mortality Prognostication in Cirrhosis

THURSDAY, July 24, 2025 -- For inpatients with cirrhosis, a machine learning (ML) model using random forest (RF) analysis is superior for prediction of inpatient mortality...

Inflammation and Nutrition-Based Scores Tied to Prognosis of Low-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome

THURSDAY, July 24, 2025 -- The Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI) and systemic oxidative stress (SOS) score are independently associated with poorer prognosis of low-risk...

Few School Principals Report District-Mandated Mental Health Screening

THURSDAY, July 24, 2025 -- Few school principals report district-mandated mental health screening in schools, according to a study published online July 18 in JAMA Network...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.