Opioid-related inpatient stays, emergency room visits increase across all states

The rates of opioid related deaths increasing 200 percent since 2000. In order to gauge exactly how bad the epidemic has become, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has released findings in opioid-related statistics by state.

As a response to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Opioid Initiative, the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) presents itself as a reference tool for the states in fighting the opioid epidemic.

The top findings of the project include:

• From 2005 to 2014, the national rate of opioid-related inpatient hospital stays increased 64.1 percent and the rate of emergency room visits increased 99.4 percent.
• Inpatient stays across the states in 2014 for opioid related reasons varied eight-fold.
• The highest rates of hospitalizations related to opioids were in Maryland (362.1 stays per 100,000 population), the District of Columbia (339.0) and New York (335.3).
• The lowest rates were in Iowa (44.2), Nebraska (46.1) and Texas (70.9).
• Rates of opioid-related inpatient stays increased the most from 2009 and 2014 with the biggest growth in in Oregon (88.9 percent), North Carolina (81.8 percent) and South Dakota (74.1 percent).
• The rate of opioid-related emergency room visits varied 14-fold in 2014 across the states.
• The highest rates of emergency room visits occurred in Massachusetts (441.6 visits per 100,000 population), Rhode Island (288.6) and Maryland (288.4).
• The lowest rates of opioid related emergency room visits occurred in Iowa (31.1), Nebraska (39.9) and South Dakota (47.1).
• Rates of opioid-related emergency room visits increased the most from 2009 and 2014, doubling in Ohio (119.1 percent), South Dakota (106.4 percent) and Minnesota (102.3 percent).