{"id":24318,"date":"2025-08-01T07:00:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T11:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncqa.org\/?page_id=24318"},"modified":"2026-01-30T07:15:40","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T12:15:40","slug":"pharmacotherapy-for-opioid-use-disorder-pod","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ncqa.org\/report-cards\/health-plans\/state-of-health-care-quality-report\/pharmacotherapy-for-opioid-use-disorder-pod\/","title":{"rendered":"Pharmacotherapy for Opioid Use Disorder (POD)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"TextRun SCXW257516301 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW257516301 BCX0\">The percentage of opioid use disorder (OUD) pharmacotherapy events that lasted at least 180 days among persons 16 years of age and older with a diagnosis of OUD and a new OUD pharmacotherapy event.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Why It Matters<\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">OUD includes recurrent use and desire for opioids despite both functional and clinical interference; it can be mild, moderate or severe, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) <sup>(2)<\/sup>.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Individuals with OUD are at increased risk of death, opioid-related overdose, ED visits and readmissions and blood-borne infectious disease <sup>(3)<\/sup>. Opioid-related overdose deaths in the U.S. increased more than five-fold between 1999 and 2016. In 2016, more than 63,600 deaths were due to drug overdose; of those, 66% involved an opioid <sup>(4)<\/sup>. Total overall costs of substance misuse and substance use disorders in the U.S., including loss of work productivity, direct health care expenditures and crime-related costs, exceed $400B annually <sup>(5)<\/sup>.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Use of and adherence to appropriate evidence-based treatment for OUD has been shown to improve outcomes for patients and reduce the burden on the health care system by preventing acute exacerbations and emergencies <sup>(6)<\/sup>. The benefits of pharmacotherapy for the treatment of individuals with OUD extends beyond the reduction of substance use, overdose and mortality to include reduced crime and recidivism, reduced risk of infectious disease and improved patient function <sup>(7)<\/sup>.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">*Adapted with permission by NCQA from the \u201cContinuity of Pharmacotherapy for Opioid Use Disorder\u201d measure owned by The RAND Corporation.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The percentage of opioid use disorder (OUD) pharmacotherapy events that lasted at least 180 days among persons 16 years of age and older with a diagnosis of OUD and a new OUD pharmacotherapy event. Why It Matters OUD includes recurrent use and desire for opioids despite both functional and clinical interference; it can be mild, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"parent":733,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-24318","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pharmacotherapy for Opioid Use Disorder (POD) - NCQA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Assesses the rate of adult acute inpatient stays that were followed by an unplanned acute readmission for any diagnosis within 30 days after discharge. 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