Cost-Effectiveness of the START Hospital Addiction Consultation Service for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment - Takeaways - MDSpire

Cost-Effectiveness of the START Hospital Addiction Consultation Service for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment

  • By

  • Adeyemi Okunogbe

  • Alexandra Peltz

  • Itai Danovitch

  • Allison J. Ober

  • Teryl K. Nuckols

  • May 7, 2026

  • 0 min

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  • 1

    Opioid use disorder (OUD) affects 5.7 million people in the US, with only 18% receiving FDA-approved medications for treatment.

  • 2

    Hospitalization rates for OUD-related conditions are high, with 24% of patients hospitalized annually, yet few receive medication for OUD.

  • 3

    The START intervention, an addiction consultation service, significantly increased the initiation of medication for OUD during hospitalization.

  • 4

    An economic evaluation of the START intervention assessed its implementation costs and cost-effectiveness compared to usual care.

  • 5

    A Markov model was used to simulate treatment transitions for OUD patients, providing estimates of intervention impacts over a 12-month period.

Original Source(s)

Cost-Effectiveness of the START Hospital Addiction Consultation Service for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment

  • by Adeyemi Okunogbe, Alexandra Peltz, Itai Danovitch, Allison J. Ober, Teryl K. Nuckols

  • May 7, 2026

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