Leveraging the 72-Hour Rule Change to Support Transition From Hospital to Opioid Treatment Program

What variables are associated with transition from hospital to opioid treatment program (OTP) under the revised 72-hour rule, which allows methadone doses for opioid use disorder (OUD) to be dispensed to patients at hospital discharge?In this cohort study examining 519 acute care encounters for 456 individuals who received take-home methadone doses at hospital discharge, discharge to postacute care facilities, current OTP enrollment, and higher methadone doses were directly associated with the transition from hospital to OTP within 72 hours.Findings of this study suggest that preexisting relationships among hospitals, postacute care facilities, and OTPs along with provision of methadone at hospital discharge likely facilitated the transition to OTP; expansion of these relationships and processes could facilitate OUD treatment engagement during tenuous care transitions.

Corresponding Author: Susan L. Calcaterra, MD, MPH, MS, Division of Hospital Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, 12401 E 17th Ave, Leprino Building, 4th Floor, Mailstop F-782, Aurora, CO 80045 (susan.calcaterra@cuanschutz.edu).

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