Opioids hospitalizations decline, report says
The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council released a study Tuesday that focuses on opioid hospitalizations pre-COVID-19. And some of the results are encouraging.
PCH4’s report profiled Pennsylvanians, age 15 and older, who had to be admitted to a general acute care hospital in the state following an opioid overdose during fiscal year 2019 (July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019). The data does not include overdoses that did not result in a hospital admission.
“It is likely we will see increases again in future reports, which will include the pandemic time period,” said Joe Martin, executive director of PHC4, an independent state agency that collects and analyzes information.
One interesting factoid, according to the analysis, is there was a 39% decrease in opioid hospitalizations during the two-year period between FY 2017 and FY 2019.
Another is that positive figures came out of Washington County, an opioids hot spot a few years ago.
The study breaks down the number of hospitalizations and hospitalization rates in four categories for residents in each of the state’s 67 counties. Figures included here are statewide and for five local counties: Allegheny, Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland.
Opioid Overdose: State (2,541 hospitalizations, 23.9 rate per 100,000 county residents). Washington County (23 cases) had the second-lowest rate in Pennsylvania (13.2), just behind Franklin (11.1). Allegheny (239 and 23.2) was just below the statewide rate, while Fayette (31 and 28.2) and Westmoreland (74, 24.8) were slightly above. Greene did not have enough data to be ranked in either category.
Opioid Use Disorder: State (31,231 and 294.0 per 100,000 residents). Greene (75, 244.8) and Washington (485, 278.5) were below Pennsylvania’s rate, while Fayette (461, 419.0), Westmoreland (1,064, 356.4) and Allegheny (3,375, 327.8) were above.
Maternal Hospital Stays For Delivery or Other Pregnancy-related Stays Involving Opioids: State (2,627 and 19.5 per 1,000 residents). Westmoreland’s rate (116, 37.4) was nearly double the state’s, and Fayette (42, 33.6), Washington (60, 28.6) and Allegheny (319, 23.5) were above Pennsylvania’s level. Greene (12 hospitalizations) did not have a ranking.
Newborns with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: State (1,733, 13.8 per 1,000 residents). None of the five local counties were below that rate, although Washington (33, 16.8) and Allegheny (216, 17.2) were just above the state. Fayette (45, 35.8) had an incidence that was nearly three times that of Pennsylvania, and Westmoreland had 63 and a 21.9 rate. Greene had 11 hospitalizations, but had no ranking.