The association between opioid use disorder and skilled nursing facility acceptances: A multicenter retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Prior single-hospital studies have documented barriers to acceptance that hospitalized patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) face when referred to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs).

OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of OUD on the number of SNF referrals and the proportion of referrals accepted.

DESIGN, SETTINGS, AND PARTICIPANTS: A retrospective cohort study of hospitalizations with SNF referrals in 2019 at two academic hospitals in Baltimore, MD.

EXPOSURE: OUD status was determined by receipt of medications for OUD during admission, upon discharge, or the presence of a diagnosis code for OUD.

KEY RESULTS: The cohort included 6043 hospitalizations (5440 hospitalizations of patients without OUD and 603 hospitalizations of patients with OUD). Hospitalizations of patients with OUD had more SNF referrals sent (8.9 vs. 5.6, p < .001), had a lower proportion of SNF referrals accepted (31.3% vs. 46.9%, p < .001), and were less likely to be discharged to an SNF (65.6% vs. 70.3%, p = .003). The effect of OUD status on the number of SNF referrals and the proportion of referrals accepted remained significant in multivariable analyses. Our subanalysis showed that reduced acceptances were driven by the hospitalizations of patients discharged without medications for OUD and those receiving methadone. Hospitalizations of patients discharged on buprenorphine were accepted at the same rates as hospitalizations of patients without OUD.

CONCLUSIONS: This multicenter retrospective cohort study found that hospitalizations of patients with OUD had more SNF referrals sent and fewer referrals accepted. Further work is needed to address the limited discharge options for patients with OUD.