The award includes a wide range of valuable support, including advanced training, coaching, and technical assistance with specialized software.
Dr. Romero is a UNC Emergency Medicine physician and Clinical Informatics Fellow.
As a result of the award, UNC Emergency Medicine physicians will soon receive advanced training, innovative tools, and resources to help them address the need for increased buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder and withdrawal. The recently increased need for use of this medicine has presented a unique challenge for Emergency Departments (EDs) throughout the U.S.
Buprenorphine can safely and effectively reduce craving, overdose and mortality in people with opioid use disorder. However, its adoption has been slowed due to physician perceptions that its use is particularly complex and disruptive within the ED environment.
Recently, innovative research projects such as the EMBED clinical trial have been conducted, in which UNC physicians and their colleagues were actively involved in developing important new Clinical Decision Support tools to address these ongoing challenges and encourage greater E.D. physician adoption of buprenorphine use. Some of these tools include Calculation of Clinical Opioid Withdrawal Scale (COWS), which include recommended dosages based on the score and patient education.
“The CaroNova award will help us facilitate department-wide education about treatment options for opioid use disorder (OUD) within the Emergency Department, along with our partners at the Substance Treatment And Recovery (STAR) clinic,” said Dr. Adrian Romero, Adjunct Assistant Professor/Clinical Informatics Fellow, in the UNC Department of Emergency Medicine.
“In particular, we would like to highlight the recent shift to Suboxone macro-inductions, which can be safely started at home or during the emergency visit, depending on the patient.”