What Do You Know About Health Quality Measures for Opioid Use Disorder?

Tools that assess care can help fill gaps in treatment

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What Do You Know About Health Quality Measures for Opioid Use Disorder?
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To improve treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), it is essential to assess care delivery using quality measures—tools that help measure or quantify health care processes, outcomes, and more. Yet although many states track overdose deaths, most are not reporting data on the effectiveness of treatment or the use of medications for OUD—the most effective form of treatment. In recognition of National Healthcare Quality Week, Oct. 16-22, see how much you know about this issue.

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Doctor speaking with patient
Issue Brief

States Should Measure Opioid Use Disorder Care

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Issue Brief

The most effective treatments for opioid use disorder (OUD) are medications: methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone. However, there are substantial gaps between the number of people who need these medications and those who receive them, and the United States continues to experience a devastating number of lives lost to the opioid epidemic.

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How States Can Measure Effectiveness of OUD Care

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Over the past year, drug overdose deaths in the United States have hit record levels, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting more than 100,000 fatalities between April 2021 and April 2022. An equally troubling statistic, though, is that most people with opioid use disorder (OUD) who would benefit from lifesaving therapies—that is, FDA-approved medications, including methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone—do not receive them.