AHA podcast discusses how hospitals can improve opioid use disorder treatment

In an American Hospital Association podcast, Heidi Bray, DNP, RN, a nurse practitioner and hospitalist at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia, Wash., discusses how hospitals can improve opioid use disorder treatment through stronger discharge planning, medication for opioid use disorder and better connections to community care. Providence St. Peter offers the Bridge to Care Collaborative ─ an initiative funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and administered by the AHA’s Health Research and Educational Trust ─ to ensure recovery continues after the largely rural patient population leaves the hospital and returns to their communities. The program offers telemedicine appointments and transportation to a larger care center for medication management. The collaborative also taught bedside nurses in rural areas to provide medication-assisted treatment.