News: Opioid-related inpatient stays increase for those 65 and older, study finds

Among patients ages 65 years and older, the rate of opioid-related hospitalizations increased more than the rate of non-opioid-related hospitalizations between 2010 and 2015, according to the recent statistical brief published by the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP).

According to the brief, opioid-related inpatient stays for these patients increased by 34.3%, from 199.3 to 267.6 per 100,000. This is in contrast to a 17.4% decrease in the rate of non-opioid-related stays, JustCoding reported.

Compared with non-opioid-related stays among patients aged 65 years and older in 2015, opioid-related stays involved:

• A higher hospitalization rate among patients residing in western states relative to other regions
• A higher proportion of patients discharged against medical advice
• A higher proportion of patients with multiple chronic conditions
• Higher average inpatient costs and emergency department charges

Because opioids slow down the central nervous system and reduce breathing, opioid abuse is responsible for a high proportion of fatal drug overdoses around the world, according to the World Health Organization.

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in JustCoding. To read about the estimated deaths related to opioids, click here. To read about coding opioid use, click here.