Opioid-Related Hospital Visits

Highlights of Patient Residence Characteristics of Opioid-Related Inpatient Stays and Emergency Department Visits Nationally and by State, a statistical brief from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), presents data from HCUP Fast Stats on the rates of opioid-related hospital inpatient stays and emergency department (ED) visits by patient location (urban/rural) and community-level income from 2005 to 2014.

The location and income groups with the highest opioid-related inpatient rates are presented for each of 44 States and the District of Columbia that provided inpatient data in 2014. The location and income groups with the highest opioid-related ED visit rates are presented for each of 30 States that provided ED visit data in 2014. States are ranked overall on the rates of opioid-related inpatient stays and ED visits by location and income group in 2014. Identification of opioid-related stays and visits is based on all-listed diagnoses and includes events associated with prescription opioids or illicit opioids such as heroin. Rates are calculated using the population denominator specific to each location or income group. A recent report showed that women and patients age 65 years and older had the greatest increases in the rate of opioid-related inpatient stays between 2005 and 2014.

Highlights of Patient Residence Characteristics of Opioid-Related Inpatient Stays and Emergency Department Visits Nationally and by State:

• From 2005 to 2014 in the United States, large central metropolitan areas had the highest rate of opioid-related inpatient stays. However, the rate of opioid hospitalizations increased the most in small metropolitan areas—a 122 percent increase versus a 28 percent increase in large central metropolitan areas.
• The rate of opioid-related ED visits increased less in large metropolitan areas than in medium metropolitan, small metropolitan, and rural areas.
• In 2014, the rates of opioid-related inpatient stays and ED visits were highest in urban areas for some States and in rural areas for other States.
  • Among States with the highest rates in large central metropolitan areas, opioid-related inpatient stays and ED visits averaged 446.5 and 377.1 per 100,000 population, respectively.
  • Among States with the highest rates in rural areas, opioid-related inpatient stays and ED visits averaged 215.4 and 177.3 per 100,000 population, respectively.
• For most States in 2014, the highest rates of opioid-related inpatient stays and ED visits were among patients residing in the communities with the lowest income.

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