One reason why getting addicts good primary care physicians is so important

~ Jason Schwartz

pill-death-big-225x300Frequent emergency room visits is associated with overdose:

According to the study from researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, the risk of dying from a prescription drug overdose was five times the rate for patients who visited the ER twice in the past year, compared to patients with one or fewer trips in the past year.

The risk of death was 17 times greater for patients with three visits, and 48 times for those with four or more visits, according to the new study.

Published by Jason Schwartz

I have been an addiction professional and social worker since 1994. I started blogging in 2005 as the Clinical Director at Dawn Farm. I no longer work at Dawn Farm and am now the Director of Behavioral Medicine at a community hospital, and a lecturer at Eastern Michigan University’s School of Social Work. Views expressed here are my own. Keep in mind that the field, the contexts in which the field operates, and my views have changed over time.