The opioid public health crisis in Texas: Characterizing real-world healthcare resource utilization and economic burden in different clinical settings

Background and aims: Given the national opioid public health crisis, this study aimed to characterize the real-world healthcare resource utilization pattern and to quantify the economic burden associated with opioid misuse in Texas. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted using Texas statewide Inpatient, Outpatient, and Emergency Department (ED) administrative data. International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10-CM) codes related to opioid abuse, adverse effects, dependence, and poisoning identified opioid-related clinical encounters. High-sensitivity and high-specificity definition criteria were used to capture the range of opioid-related clinical encounters. Descriptive statistics were applied to evaluate the resource utilization and economic burden in different clinical settings and by different types of opioid misuse. Multivariable logistic regression models were applied to identify the association with patients' characteristics. Results: The high-sensitivity definition identified three to six times more opioid-related clinical encounters related as compared to the high-specificity definition (31,901 vs 10,423 outpatient visits and 47,021 vs 7,444 inpatient visits). A greater proportion of these patients were aged 18-44, White, non-Hispanic, living in metro areas, and uninsured as compared to all-cause visits. EDs were heavily utilized with the outpatient visits predominantly through the ED (>90 percent) and between 49 and 78 percent of inpatient hospitalizations admitted through ED. The multivariable association between patient characteristics and opioid-related clinical encounters varied with clinical settings and the two definitions. High-sensitivity opioid-related clinical encounters were generally associated with higher charges as compared to high-specificity encounters. The total healthcare charge related to opioid misuse in 2016 was estimated to be USD 0.27 billion using the high-specificity definition and USD 2.6 billion using the high-sensitivity definition. Conclusions: Findings indicate opioid-related clinical encounters impose significant clinical and economic burdens in Texas. Study findings can help healthcare policymakers, professionals, and clinicians better classify opioid use disorder as a major but underreported condition in Texas.