Journal of addiction medicine
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North America is in the midst of an overdose crisis, with up to 130 Americans dying daily from a preventable drug overdose. Opioids account for 70% of overdose deaths. Despite government efforts to improve access to opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment and the implementation of various harm reduction initiatives, overdose mortality remains unacceptably high. ⋯ TiOAT is suitable for individuals with severe OUD who are actively injecting opioids and are refractory to conventional OUD treatment. As such, a scale-up of the TiOAT program may be a feasible alternative to address persistent opioid-related deaths in North America, while minimizing potential harms associated with unwitnessed safer supply opioid prescribing (eg, diversion and overdose). Although a comprehensive evaluation of TiOAT is of critical importance (including an assessment of the program's adverse events), completion of the evaluation should not preclude scale-up of the program in the interim as a strategy to reduce opioid-related harms.
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Emergency department (ED) initiated opioid use disorder (OUD) care is effective; however, real-world predictors of patient engagement are lacking. ⋯ Initiating treatment for OUD in the ED was associated with increased engagement in outpatient addiction care.