CJEM Visual Abstract – Buprenorphine/naloxone initiation and referral as a quality improvements intervention for patients who live with opiate use disorder

In Infographics by Samuel Wilson1 Comment

For this issue of CJEM, we collaborated with their team to present “Buprenorphine/naloxone initiation and referral as a quality improvements intervention for patients who live with opiate use disorder”​1​ in a visual abstract format.

Opioid use disorder is a major public health concern that accounts for a high number of potential years of life lost. Often, these patients use the ED as their primary contact with the healthcare system. The recommended treatment, buprenorphine/naloxone, can be safely initiated in the ED. An ED-based program for initiation of this therapy was created in Alberta to help bridge access to care for these patients.

This study, by Stone et al., supported local ED teams to offer buprenorphine/naloxone to eligible patients presenting to the ED with suspected opioid use disorder and refer these patients for follow-up care. They then analyzed process, outcome, and balancing measures over the first 2 years of the initiative. The incredible results are included in the full article down below.

For a summary of what the authors found, a .pdf version of a visual abstract on the topic can be found below:

CJEM visual abstract
  1. 1.
    Stone KD, Scott K, Holroyd BR, et al. Buprenorphine/naloxone initiation and referral as a quality improvement intervention for patients who live with opioid use disorder: quantitative evaluation of provincial spread to 107 rural and urban Alberta emergency departments. Can J Emerg Med. Published online May 28, 2023:598-607. doi:10.1007/s43678-023-00520-3
Samuel Wilson

Samuel Wilson

Sam is a third-year Emergency Medicine FRCPC resident at The Ottawa Hospital. He is the CanadiEM/CJEM Infographic editor, interested in PoCUS, trauma, knowledge dissemination, and all things chess.