Yale Study About Opioid Addiction Treatment Offers Hope
As the opioid epidemic rages on, we need to fight it any way possible.
Sadly, as much as we wish we could will - away, or effectively solve the crisis of opioid addiction all around our country, that seems to be a pipe dream. That said, we need to offer treatment whenever possible, and a recent study is posing a new idea.
Yale News is reporting about a new Yale University study that is strongly suggesting that the most cost-effective treatment for people with untreated opioid addiction who go to a hospital emergency department, is a medication called buprenorphine, which reduces drug cravings and withdrawal. Sadly the study says that only about one in five people across the country who need opioid addiction treatment have gotten it in the last year.
Susan Busch, professor at the Yale School of Public Health had this to say to Yale News
We know that the opioid epidemic has devastating consequences for individuals, yet many people are not in treatment. This is one high-value, effective way to get people the help they need
When you look at the numbers in the study, it appears that more money is being doled out across the nation for other less effective options. If getting an addict this medication and an ongoing treatment program could increase the number of people helped, I hope healthcare systems and insurance companies would get on board sooner than later.
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