Open AccessWhat Is the Financial Impact of Orthopaedic Sequelae of Intravenous Drug Use on Urban Tertiary-care Centers?
Author(s) -
Nishant Dwivedi,
Mary A. Breslin,
Amber N. McDermott,
Steve Lin,
Heather A. Vallier,
Paul Tornetta
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
clinical orthopaedics and related research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1528-1132
pISSN - 0009-921X
DOI - 10.1097/corr.0000000000001330
Subject(s) - medicine , underinsured , health care , context (archaeology) , public health , population , orthopedic surgery , total cost , medical emergency , emergency medicine , family medicine , environmental health , surgery , health insurance , nursing , paleontology , economics , biology , economic growth , microeconomics
Orthopaedic sequelae such as skin and soft-tissue abscesses are frequent complications of intravenous drug use (IVDU) and comprise many of the most common indications for emergency room visits and hospitalizations within this population. Urban tertiary-care and safety-net hospitals frequently operate in challenging economic healthcare environments and are disproportionately tasked with providing care to this largely underinsured patient demographic. Although many public health initiatives have been instituted in recent years to understand the health impacts of IVDU and the spreading opioid epidemic, few efforts have been made to investigate its economic impact on healthcare systems. The inpatient treatment of orthopaedic sequelae of IVDU is a high-cost healthcare element that is critically important to understand within the current national context of inflationary healthcare costs.