Behavioral Health Business December 31, 2024
Drug-related emergency department (ED) visits were up by nearly 6% in 2023 compared to the previous year.
That’s according to a new report by The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which used data from The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN).
The report found that the most common type of substance-related ED visit was for alcohol use, followed by cannabis and opioids.
Emergency department visits due to alcohol decreased by 3.6% compared to the previous year, though they remained a frequent occurrence, accounting for 41% of all visits. Opioid-related events also decreased by 3.7%. Meanwhile, cannabis-related events increased by 4.6%.
Researchers found that people between the ages of 26 and 44 had the highest rates of substance-related ED visits....