Background: Addiction medicine services are a critical component of care for patients suffering from opioid use disorder. Previous research has indicated that opioid use disorder patients have higher lengths of stay (LOS) and higher hospital readmission rates than patients admitted for a different medical condition. Even though the presence of a specialized team of addiction specialists should theoretically reduce lengths of stay for opioid use disorder patients, as compared to care provided by a hospitalist, the inverse appears to be true. As a result, more quality improvement research is needed to improve the efficiency, timeliness, and clinical effectiveness, among other domains, of the addiction medicine team. One quality control improvement involves using a specialized note template developed with the aim of improving and streamlining communication between the addiction medicine and hospital medicine teams to positively impact patient outcomes.
Purpose: We anticipate that inpatients who have a diagnosed substance abuse disorder will benefit from the use of a novel note template that indicates readiness for discharge, from an Addiction Medicine perspective, as demonstrated by reduced hospital lengths of stay and reduced rates of 30-day readmissions.
Description: We will study length of stay rates and 30-day readmission rates for patients diagnosed with a substance use disorder on inpatient Hospital Medicine and Surgical Services. Baseline data will be tracked on length of stay and 30-day readmissions for patients diagnosed with a substance use disorder on inpatient Hospital Medicine and Surgical Service teams who are being followed by the CUH Addiction Medicine Consult Service for 3 months. This data will then be compared to data gathered by tracking the same patient population on the same services, but with the addition of the use of the novel note template indicating readiness for discharge from an Addiction Medicine perspective.
Conclusions: Ultimately, it is anticipated that the specialized note template has the potential to reduce repeated visits. Data collection has started and it is anticipated to conclude soon.
