Significant numbers of patients with substance use disorders (SUDs) will use that substance during hospitalization, often to avoid withdrawal, for undertreated pain, or due to psychological stressors and stigma. Response to these events in hospitals is often punitive with security response and often resulting in poor outcomes including patient-directed discharges, readmission, and death. In this commentary, the authors make recommendations for changes to policies for response to in-hospital substance use. The recommendations include addressing issues that often lead to use such as adequate pain control, treating withdrawal, and providing addiction consults services.

Read more: https://journals.lww.com/journaladdictionmedicine/Fulltext/9900/In_hospital_Substance_Use_Policies__An_Opportunity.39.aspx