Management of Substance Use Disorders in Ambulatory Care in the United States, 2001-2009

Abstract

An estimated 22.5 million Americans meet criteria for a substance use disorder diagnosis.¹ Opioid use, in particular, has attracted attention recently because overdose deaths due to opioid analgesics have increased nearly 4-fold in the past decade.² Effective treatment options have also increased during this period.³ The impact of these developments on the delivery of substance abuse treatment in traditional ambulatory care settings is not known. Further change is expected as recent federal legislation is implemented.⁴ Therefore, we sought to describe the prevalence and management of substance use disorders in ambulatory care in a nationally representative sample.