Improving Naloxone and Buprenorphine Provision in the Pediatric Emergency Department Through Education and…

StudyPediatric emergency care· Jun 2026

Improving Naloxone and Buprenorphine Provision in the Pediatric Emergency Department Through Education and Chief Complaint-Triggered Screening.

Chris Buresh, Ron Kaplan, Sarah Lowry … Lori Rutman

Addiction MedicineStudyQ3IF 1.0

Chief complaint-triggered alerts nearly tripled naloxone dispensing to at-risk adolescents.

Improving Naloxone and Buprenorphine Provision in the Pediatric Emergency Department Through Education and Chief Complaint-Triggered Screening.

Chris Buresh … Lori Rutman

Pediatric emergency care · Jun 2026 · Q3 in General Medicine

Purpose

Opioid use disorder (opioid use disorder) among US adolescents represents a public health crisis, with overdose deaths becoming a leading cause of mortality.

Methods

A multifaceted opioid use disorder screening and treatment protocol was implemented in a pediatric emergency department using Best Practice Alerts (Best Practice Alerts) triggered by specific chief complaints (chief complaints), alerting providers to the need for additional screening.

Results

naloxone dispensing to at-risk teens nearly tripled after alerts began

More results

During the study, 63 adolescents initiated buprenorphine, and 246 received naloxone.

Postimplementation, Black/African American adolescents and those with government insurance received more medications than peers, and overall naloxone prescribing increased from 0.4% to 0.79% of all visits.

More results

Patients triggering the Best Practice Alerts experienced longer ED stays regardless of medication receipt, with no increase in return visits.

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Conclusion · 1 of 2

Electronic screening alerts coupled with provider education increased the provision of medications for adolescents at risk for opioid-related harm.

Conclusion · 2 of 2

The intervention is achievable in a pediatric emergency department without increasing return visits.