The continued work of St. Tammany Health System’s Emergency Department to reduce the use of opioids in treating emergency room patients has landed it on the American College of Emergency Room Physicians’ 2021 Emergency Quality Network Honor Roll.
It is one of 107 emergency rooms nationwide to receive the honor.
According to STHS Director of Emergency Services Bradley Leonhard, the health system’s opioid reduction initiative grew out of an increase in local overdoses since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. That prompted the health system to focus more on alternatives to prescribing opioids.
The result was a 30% reduction in opioids administered during delivery of emergency care.
“Here at St. Tammany Health System, we are dedicated to ensuring high-quality care with whatever condition patients present with,” Leonhard said. “Unfortunately, we have serious issues with opioid addiction in our parish. The overall goal of this project was to ensure an increase in the quality of care delivered to our patients who struggle with opioid use disorders – and we’ve been successful in that.”
Provisional data published Wednesday (May 11, 2022) by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that U.S. deaths from drug overdoses rose in 2021 to record-setting levels, nearing 108,000.
Deaths from use of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl – a powerful, lab-produced substance often mixed into heroin without the knowledge of the user, leading to accidental overdoses – rose to 71,000, up from 58,000 the year prior.
Although the opioid crisis predates the COVID-19 pandemic, experts have suggested the social isolation and economic dislocation resulting from the pandemic have exacerbated it among vulnerable populations.
St. Tammany Health System is one of more than 1,800 emergency departments to have participated in the E-QUAL Honor Roll program to-date. Together, they have achieved an overall 35% decrease in opioids administered in the emergency department, according to the American College of Emergency Room Physicians.
That includes treatment prescribed at discharge, treatment administered in the emergency department, and take-home naloxone offered or prescribed.
“The E-Qual Honor Roll represents best in class efforts by emergency departments across the country to standardize and continuously improve the quality of patient care delivered on the front lines," said Dr. Gillian Schmitz, president of ACEP. "These leaders demonstrate that even despite the unpredictable nature of the pandemic, data-driven care transformation can enhance treatment approaches and save lives."