NYC Health + Hospitals to Engage 8,000 More Patients With Opioid Use Disorder in Communities Hardest Hit by the Opioid Epidemic
The program will focus initially on inpatients, admitted to hospital medical and surgical floors, with plans to expand over time to the emergency department and outpatient clinics. While the program will address the full range of misused substances, it will place special focus on opioids. The program's target is to reach and deliver treatment to more than 8,000 patients with opioid use disorder per year across the six hospitals.
Through the clinical program, CATCH teams at each hospital will engage inpatients who have substance use disorders and initiate medication for addiction treatment with those who are interested. Those patients will also be connected to ongoing care to ensure the continuation of treatment after discharge.
The effectiveness of the CATCH program will be studied.
"This is an important shift for our public health system, which historically hasn't had a mechanism through which to engage patients with substance use disorders unless they are seeking care specifically for that issue," said
"This horrific epidemic has reached every corner of our City, which underscores just how critical it is that treatment and services be available where and when people need them most," said First Lady Chirlane McCray, who leads the City's mental health and substance misuse efforts. "This new program will help get thousands more New Yorkers on the road to recovery, and free of judgment or punishment."
"Our investment in CATCH is just one of the ways that we are positioning
"I am thrilled that the CATCH program will soon be implemented in
"At a critical moment in our city's opioid epidemic, it's encouraging to see
"As an elected representative of
"Make no mistake about it, this program will save lives," said Council Member
"
"The introduction of the CATCH program at
About CATCH
Staff are currently being recruited to work in CATCH teams. Each team will include three members. A doctor or nurse practitioner will diagnose the substance use disorder and prescribe medication for addiction treatment as needed. An addiction counselor or social worker will help determine the appropriate setting for treatment and work with the patient on addiction-related issues. A peer advocate will connect with patients on a "lived experience" level and help them navigate their ongoing care.
An important innovation of CATCH is that the team's work will continue post-discharge, to tightly link patients who are ready for treatment to a long-term provider. For some patients, ongoing care will be provided at
In
"The
While Healing NYC funding for the CATCH program will be revised upward to reflect the City's commitment to the two new hospitals, the funding commitment for the first four hospitals is
Since HealingNYC was launched in
Studying CATCH
The study of the clinical program will measure initiation, engagement, and retention of patients in medication for addiction treatment, including following patients post-discharge. It will determine the impact of CATCH on opioid treatment outcomes in comparison to usual care and evaluate the success of implementation, at each site. Among the outcomes measured will be the frequency of acute care utilization and overdose deaths among eligible patients hospitalized during the study period versus usual care.
"Addiction consult programs like CATCH have tremendous potential to reduce the negative consequences of untreated substance use disorder, but to date there has been very little research on how best to implement them and maximize their effectiveness," said
The study is expected to fill an evidence gap that has challenged public health authorities and health systems nationally. Little is known about programs that initiate medication for addiction treatment for inpatients hospitalized for reasons other than substance use disorder, as well as what happens for these patients post-discharge. In addition, little is known, other than anecdotally, about the value of adding peer counselors to an addiction consult team.
"While our study will examine 8,000 lives touched each year, we hope its impact will result in improved care and better engagement for countless other patients nationally," said
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