Black Emergency Department Patients Less Likely to Be Treated with Opioids, More Likely to Misuse Them Later

Black emergency department patients less likely to be treated with opioids, more likely to misuse them later

A new study examining racial disparities in unmet pain treatment finds that patients suffering from acute pain whose opioid treatment preferences were not met during an emergency department visit are at elevated risk of misusing them three months later. This was particularly true for Black patients, who were likelier than whites to be sent home without an opioid prescription.

Black Emergency Department Patients Less Likely to Be Treated with Opioids – and More Likely to Misuse Them Later as a Result

Patients suffering from acute pain whose opioid treatment preferences were not met during an emergency department visit are at elevated risk for misusing them three months later. This was particularly true for Black patients, who were likelier than whites to be sent home without an opioid prescription.