A major hole in the healthcare system has many hospitals and health systems fueling the nation’s opioid epidemic — unintentionally or not.
To shed more light on the problem, Becker’s caught up with Gregory Rudolf, MD. Dr. Rudolf is board-certified in pain medicine and addiction medicine, and since 2004 has worked in a multidisciplinary pain management clinic at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle. “We deal with the issue of opioid management every day and try to be at forefront of best practices,” he told Becker’s.
“One thing that hospitals can do in the short-term is become as familiar as possible with local resources in the community and who provides inpatient and outpatient treatment for substance use disorders. There are also methadone maintenance clinics available in some communities for those with longer-term opioid addiction who might benefit from a more structured and monitored approach, typically involving daily observed dosing. Is there a methadone clinic locally you can make sure your doctors know about?”
Source: Becker’s Hospital Review
