The hidden costs of drug and alcohol use in hospital emergency departments

Abstract

This study demonstrates a need for AOD interventions in the emergency department setting, both because it represents an opportunity for intervention in a population in which problems with substance use is highly prevalent, and because there is evidence that AOD imposes additional costs on the health system. [Butler K, Reeve R, Arora S, Viney R, Goodall S, van Gool K, Burns L. The hidden costs of drug and alcohol use in hospital emergency departments. Drug Alcohol Rev 2016;35:359-366].

Estimating prevalence of drug and alcohol presentations to hospital emergency departments in NSW, Australia: impact of hospital consultation liaison services

“…12 Among the total sample (N = 1615), 35% of participants self-reported substance use in the 24 hours before presentation, and 30% reported their substance use had contributed to their current hospital presentation to some extent. Alcohol was the most common substance reported being used in the 24 hours before presentation, with 27% of the sample reporting this use.…”

“…Participants who reported that their substance use had contributed to their current presentation most commonly reported alcohol (18%), cannabis (4%), sedatives (3%), amphetamine-type stimulants (2%) and opioids (2%) as the contributing substance. 12 The evaluation found that about 35% of patients in a baseline patient survey screened positive for drug and alcohol problems as measured by the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test. Of the total sample screened, 7% required specialist intervention for one or more substances.…”

Direct cost of alcohol‐related presentations to Royal Perth Hospital emergency department

“…There are a limited number of studies on the direct costs of all alcohol‐related presentations to the ED, with the most comprehensive study from the USA . However, not all studies measured costs of all alcohol‐related presentations to the ED and none measured direct costs of all alcohol‐related presentations in an Australian tertiary hospital ED.…”

“…They found alcohol‐related injuries were associated with an increased use of resources and generated a financial burden of US$217 million (2003 dollars) in 1 year. Other authors focused on societal costs, specific resources consumed in the ED or costs to the ED alongside drug use . They found patients with alcohol and drug problems presented to the ED more often and as a result imposed additional costs.…”

“…In Australia and New Zealand, a recent point prevalence survey of ED patients on a weekend night across 106 EDs, found one in seven presentations were alcohol‐related with some EDs reporting up to one in three . Previous studies have reported that alcohol‐related presentations are associated with higher costs to the ED, requiring more investigations and time in the ED . However, these studies use inconsistent terminology of costs, focus on certain age groups and include only alcohol‐related injuries.…”