Cordero, Nelson

Substance use disorders (SUD) are associated with an excessive number of hospital and emergency room visits, as well as noncompliance with medical guidance. Many low-barrier substance abuse treatment bridge clinics are hospital-based outpatient operations that are not licensed as opioid treatment facilities (OTPs). The aim of this quality improvement project is to reduce ER readmissions for patients suffering from substance abuse disorders. Improvements were seen in patients after three months of participation in the provided BRIDGE program using the shared technique. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) SHARE Approach to Decision-Making assists healthcare clinicians in partnering with patients to make the best decision possible for them. The frequent emergency room visits by people suffering from SUD inspired our project. The DNP student visited with SUD patients in the ED and engaged in collaborative decision-making with them. This project aims to educate individuals who visit the Broward Health Medical Center emergency room about the importance of a substance abuse treatment program. Nonparametric statistics were utilized to determine the extent to which the individual was active in the decision-making process. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the participants who consented and refused to participate in the BRIDGE Program, as well as to calculate the percentage of participants who agreed to participate in the BRIDGE Program and whether any of them were readmitted during the program.