Opportunities to Improve Opioid Use Disorder and Infectious Disease Services: Integrating Responses to a Dual Epidemic

Excerpt

Opioid use and infectious diseases are intertwined epidemics. Despite the fact that the United States is more than two decades into the opioid crisis — the cause of tens of thousands of deaths every year on its own — the health system has not sufficiently addressed the morbidity and mortality of drug use coupled with infectious diseases. This is at least in part due to traditional models of substance use disorder care wherein substance use disorder treatment is delivered independently of other medical care, thereby inhibiting the delivery of comprehensive care. As a result, the United States is experiencing a drastic increase in infectious diseases that spread with drug use. Opportunities to Improve Opioid Use Disorder and Infectious Disease Services examines current efforts to integrate care and describes barriers, such as inadequate workforce and training; lack of data integration and sharing; and stigma among people who use drugs and have also been diagnosed with an infectious disease. The conclusions and recommendations of this report will help to promote patient-centered, integrated programs to address this dual epidemic.