AHRQ Stats: Opioid-Related Hospital Stays Increase in Small Metro Areas

Opioid-related hospital stays more than doubled nationwide between 2005 and 2014 in small metropolitan areas (counties with 50,000 to 249,000 people). (Source: AHRQ, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #226: Patient Residence Characteristics of Opioid-Related Inpatient Stays and Emergency Department Visits Nationally and by State, 2014.)

Patient Residence Characteristics of Opioid-Related Inpatient Stays and Emergency Department Visits Nationally and by State, 2014

Audrey J. Weiss, Ph.D., Molly K. Bailey, Lauren O'Malley, Marguerite L. Barrett, M.S., Anne Elixhauser, Ph.D., and Claudia A. Steiner, M.D., M.P.H.

Highlights

From 2005 to 2014 in the United States, large central metropolitan areas had the highest rate of opioid-related inpatient stays. However, the rate of opioid hospitalizations increased the most in small metropolitan areas—a 122 percent increase versus a 28 percent increase in large central metropolitan areas.

The rate of opioid-related emergency department (ED) visits increased less in large metropolitan areas than in medium metropolitan, small metropolitan, and rural areas.

In 2014, the rates of opioid-related inpatient stays and ED visits were highest in urban areas for some States and in rural areas for other States.
- Among States with the highest rates in large central metropolitan areas, opioid-related inpatient stays and ED visits averaged 446.5 and 377.1 per 100,000 population, respectively.
- Among States with the highest rates in rural areas, opioid-related inpatient stays and ED visits averaged 215.4 and 177.3 per 100,000 population, respectively.

For most States in 2014, the highest rates of opioid-related inpatient stays and ED visits were among patients residing in the communities with the lowest income.