R.I. posts new emergency room rules for opioid patients

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By Lynn Arditi 

PROVIDENCE, R.I.-- State health officials on Wednesday released new standards to improve hospital emergency rooms' treatment of patients addicted to opioids.
Rhode Island is the first in the country to develop such statewide guidelines, state Health Director Nicole Alexander-Scott said.
The Rhode Island Department of Health's new standards follow passage last spring of a state law -- The Alexander Perry and Brandon Goldner Act -- designed to improve treatment for people with substance abuse disorders following the overdose deaths of the sons of two prominent Rhode Islanders.
The law was passed after the opioid overdose deaths of the son of Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner and his wife, Barbara Goldner, and the son of former Sen. Rhoda Perry. The Goldner's 23-year-old was treated at Rhode Island Hospital's emergency room seven times in three months prior to his death in 2015.
All hospital-based and freestanding emergency departments in Rhode Island must meet the minimum "Level 3" certification for treating patients with opioid-use disorders established under the Perry-Goldner Act. A hospital or emergency department which achieves a higher standard can apply for a "Level 2" or "Level 1" certification. The highest "Level 1" certification is for facilities that provide buprenorphine and other medication-assisted treatment and and have been designated as "Centers of Excellence" for the treatment of opioid use disorders.
"Ensuring that people who are living with the disease of addiction get the same high-quality care at hospitals and emergency departments throughout Rhode Island is essential to preventing overdoses and saving lives," Gov. Gina Raimondo said in a statement.
The certifications will be based on initial self-assessments and follow-up evaluations by the state Department of Health and the state Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities, and Hospitals (BHDDH), according to a 19-page booklet describing the guidelines.
The standards were developed by the task force with input from hospitals and emergency departments around Rhode Island.
The minimum "Level 3" standards require hospital emergency rooms to do the following:
· dispense the opioid antidote naloxone to all patients at risk
· educate all patients who are prescribed opioids on safe storage and disposal
· provide comprehensive discharge planning to people who overdose, in accordance with the Perry-Goldner Act.
· screen all patients for substance-use disorder
· report all overdoses within 48 hours to state Department of Health
· offer patients peer recovery support services
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On Twitter: @LynnArditi

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