Northeast Postacute Medical Facilities Disproportionately Reject Referrals For Patients With Opioid Use Disorder

The association between opioid use disorder and skilled nursing facility acceptances: A multicenter retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Prior single-hospital studies have documented barriers to acceptance that hospitalized patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) face when referred to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs).

OBJECTIVE

To examine the impact of OUD on the number of SNF referrals and the proportion of referrals accepted.

DESIGN, SETTINGS, AND PARTICIPANTS

A retrospective cohort study of hospitalizations with SNF referrals in 2019 at two academic hospitals in Baltimore, MD.

EXPOSURE

OUD status was determined by receipt of medications for OUD during admission, upon discharge, or the presence of a diagnosis code for OUD.

KEY RESULTS

The cohort included 6043 hospitalizations (5440 hospitalizations of patients without OUD and 603 hospitalizations of patients with OUD). Hospitalizations of patients with OUD had more SNF referrals sent (8.9 vs. 5.6, p < .001), had a lower proportion of SNF referrals accepted (31.3% vs. 46.9%, p < .001), and were less likely to be discharged to an SNF (65.6% vs. 70.3%, p = .003). The effect of OUD status on the number of SNF referrals and the proportion of referrals accepted remained significant in multivariable analyses. Our subanalysis showed that reduced acceptances were driven by the hospitalizations of patients discharged without medications for OUD and those receiving methadone. Hospitalizations of patients discharged on buprenorphine were accepted at the same rates as hospitalizations of patients without OUD.

CONCLUSIONS

This multicenter retrospective cohort study found that hospitalizations of patients with OUD had more SNF referrals sent and fewer referrals accepted. Further work is needed to address the limited discharge options for patients with OUD.

The addiction consultation service for hospitalized patients with substance use disorder: An integrative review of the evidence

INTRODUCTION

The Addiction Consultation Service has emerged as a model of care for hospitalized patients with substance use disorder. The aim of this integrative review is to characterize the Addiction Consultation Service in general hospital settings, assess its impact on clinical outcomes, identify knowledge gaps, and offer guidance for implementation.

METHODS

We conducted an integrative review of studies from January 2002 to August 2023, applying specific inclusion criteria to collect study design, service characteristics, staffing models, utilization, and health outcomes. Additionally, a comprehensive quality appraisal was conducted for all studies considered for inclusion.

RESULTS

Findings from 41 studies meeting inclusion criteria were synthesized and tabulated. Study designs included six reports from three randomized controlled trials, five descriptive studies, and 30 observational studies. The most common study setting was the urban academic medical center. Studies evaluated the structure, process, and outcomes of the Addiction Consultation Service. A majority of studies, particularly those utilizing more rigorous designs, reported positive outcomes involving medication initiation, linkage to post-discharge care, and utilization outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

The Addiction Consultation Service care model improves quality of care for hospitalized patients with substance use disorder. Additional research is needed to assess its effectiveness across diverse medical settings, determine the effectiveness of varying staffing models, demonstrate impactful outcomes, and establish funding mechanisms to support sustainability.

Perspectives on Admissions and Care for Residents With Opioid Use Disorder in Skilled Nursing Facilities

Importance

Skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) are being referred more individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD), even when their medical needs are not directly associated with OUD.

Objective

To characterize factors that influence SNF admission for individuals with OUD and identify strategies for providing medications for OUD (MOUD) in SNFs.

Design, Setting, and Participants

In this semistructured qualitative study, interviews were conducted with SNF administrators from 27 SNFs in Rhode Island from November 5, 2021, to April 27, 2022. Data analysis occurred from August 22, 2022, to May 31, 2023.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Themes and subthemes on administrator perspectives on admissions and care for people with OUD in SNFs. Audio interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed using codebook thematic analysis and guided by community-engaged and participatory research principles.

Results

The study included 29 participants representing 27 SNFs in Rhode Island. Participant roles were administrators (17 participants [59%]), directors of nursing (6 participants [21%]), directors of admissions (5 participants [17%]), and unit managers (1 participant [3%]). Participants described active substance use, Medicaid insurance, housing instability, and younger age as potential barriers to SNF admission for individuals with OUD. The lack of formal guidelines for OUD management, staff shortages, facility liability, state regulations, and skills and training deficits among staff were cited among challenges of effectively meeting the needs of residents with OUD. Many participants reported inadequate institutional capacity as a source of negative outcomes for people with OUD yet expressed their concerns by characterizing individuals with OUD as potentially violent, nonadherent, or likely to bring undesirable elements into facilities. Participants also shared strategies they used to better serve residents with OUD, including providing transportation to support group meetings in the community, delivery in advance of resident arrival of predosed methadone, and telemedicine through the state's hotline to prescribe buprenorphine.

Conclusions and Relevance

In this qualitative study of administrator perspectives about admissions and care for individuals with OUD in SNFs, gaps in institutional capacity overlapped with stigmatizing beliefs about OUD; such beliefs perpetuate discrimination of individuals with OUD. Adequate SNF funding and staffing combined with OUD-specific interventions (eg, antistigma training, community partnerships for MOUD and recovery support) could incentivize SNFs to serve individuals with OUD and facilitate OUD care consistent with practice guidelines.

Envisioning Minimally Disruptive Opioid Use Disorder Care

Most people who need and want treatment for opioid addiction cannot access it. Among those who do get treatment, only a fraction receive evidence-based, life-saving medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). MOUD access is not simply a matter of needing more clinicians or expanding existing treatment capacity. Instead, many facets of our health systems and policies create unwarranted, inflexible, and punitive practices that create life-threatening barriers to care. In the USA, opioid use disorder care is maximally disruptive. Minimally disruptive medicine (MDM) is a framework that focuses on achieving patient goals while imposing the smallest possible burden on patients' lives. Using MDM framing, we highlight how current medical practices and policies worsen the burden of treatment and illness, compound life demands, and strain resources. We then offer suggestions for programmatic and policy changes that would reduce disruption to the lives of those seeking care, improve health care quality and delivery, begin to address disparities and inequities, and save lives.

OUD MEETS: A novel program to increase initiation of medications for opioid use disorder and improve outcomes for hospitalized patients being discharged to skilled nursing facilities

INTRODUCTION

Rates of hospitalizations from medical complications of opioid use disorder (OUD) are rising and many of these patients require post-acute care at skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). However, access to medication for OUD (MOUD) at SNFs remains low and patients with OUD have high rates of patient-directed discharge (PDD) and hospital readmissions.

METHODS

Opioid Use Disorder Medical Patient Engagement, Enrollment in treatment and Transitional Supports (OUD MEETS) program was a clinical pilot designed to increase initiation of buprenorphine and methadone for hospitalized patients with OUD requiring post-acute care. The program comprises a hospital partnership with two SNFs and two opioid treatment programs (OTPs) to improve recovery supports and access to MOUD for patients discharged to SNF.

RESULTS

Between August 2019 and August 2020, study staff approached 49 hospitalized patients with OUD for participation in OUD MEETS. Twenty-eight of 30 eligible patients enrolled in the program and initiated buprenorphine or methadone. Twenty-seven (96 %) enrolled patients successfully completed hospital treatment. Twenty-three (85 %) patients successfully completed medical treatment at SNF. Thirteen (46 %) enrolled patients had confirmed linkage to OUD treatment post-SNF. One patient left the hospital (4 %) and four patients left SNF (15 %) via PDD.

CONCLUSION

OUD MEETS demonstrates feasibility of hospital, SNF, and OTP partnership to integrate MOUD treatment into SNFs, with high rates of completion of medical treatment and low rates of PDD. Future research should find sustainable ways to improve access to MOUD at post-acute care facilities, including through regulatory and policy changes.

Factors Influencing Admission Decisions in Skilled Nursing Facilities: A Retrospective Quantitative Study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND

Occupancy rates within skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) in the United States have reached a record low. Understanding drivers of occupancy, including admission decisions, is critical for assessing the recovery of the long-term care sector as a whole. We provide the first comprehensive analysis of financial, clinical, and operational factors that impact whether a patient referral to an SNF is accepted or denied, using a large health informatics database.

OBJECTIVE

Our key objectives were to describe the distribution of referrals sent to SNFs in terms of key referral- and facility-level features; analyze key financial, clinical, and operational variables and their relationship to admission decisions; and identify the key potential reasons behind referral decisions in the context of learning health systems.

METHODS

We extracted and cleaned referral data from 627 SNFs from January 2020 to March 2022, including information on SNF daily operations (occupancy and nursing hours), referral-level factors (insurance type and primary diagnosis), and facility-level factors (overall 5-star rating and urban versus rural status). We computed descriptive statistics and applied regression modeling to identify and describe the relationships between these factors and referral decisions, considering them individually and controlling for other factors to understand their impact on the decision-making process.

RESULTS

When analyzing daily operation values, no significant relationship between SNF occupancy or nursing hours and referral acceptance was observed (P>.05). By analyzing referral-level factors, we found that the primary diagnosis category and insurance type of the patient were significantly related to referral acceptance (P<.05). Referrals with primary diagnoses within the category "Diseases of the Musculoskeletal System" are least often denied whereas those with diagnoses within the "Mental Illness" category are most often denied (compared with other diagnosis categories). Furthermore, private insurance holders are least often denied whereas "medicaid" holders are most often denied (compared with other insurance types). When analyzing facility-level factors, we found that the overall 5-star rating and urban versus rural status of an SNF are significantly related to referral acceptance (P<.05). We found a positive but nonmonotonic relationship between the 5-star rating and referral acceptance rates, with the highest acceptance rates found among 5-star facilities. In addition, we found that SNFs in urban areas have lower acceptance rates than their rural counterparts.

CONCLUSIONS

While many factors may influence a referral acceptance, care challenges associated with individual diagnoses and financial challenges associated with different remuneration types were found to be the strongest drivers. Understanding these drivers is essential in being more intentional in the process of accepting or denying referrals. We have interpreted our results using an adaptive leadership framework and suggested how SNFs can be more purposeful with their decisions while striving to achieve appropriate occupancy levels in ways that meet their goals and patients' needs.