Fewer Than Half of Drug Overdose Survivors Go to the Hospital

Findings show a potential missed opportunity for substance use treatment or harm reduction tools

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 22, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Among survivors of drug overdose, fewer than half visited the emergency department, according to a study published online Oct. 16 in JAMA Network Open.

Brendan Saloner, Ph.D., from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and colleagues examined service use following a nonfatal overdose (NFOD). The analysis included a telephone survey of 2,097 adults who used cocaine, opioids, or methamphetamines in the previous 12 months.

The researchers found that 25.7 percent of participants had experienced at least one NFOD in the prior year. During the most recent NFOD, use of naloxone was reported by 82.1 percent of survivors, while calls to 911 were reported by 61.3 percent and visits to the emergency department were reported by 47.0 percent. A call to 911 was more likely at the most recent overdose event for non-Hispanic Black people versus non-Hispanic White people (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.79; P = 0.02) and by people who used drugs a few times a month at the time of the interview (versus no drug use; AOR, 3.83; P = 0.02). The most common reasons cited for not calling 911 were that the person regained consciousness without naloxone (28.6 percent) or that a bystander administered naloxone (26.8 percent). Of those going to the emergency department, most (61.5 percent) received take-home naloxone in the hospital, while fewer reported receiving buprenorphine (21.9 percent) or methadone (16.2 percent) before discharge.

“Connection to medical care serves as a vital opportunity to understand what an individual’s goals are, and if interested, offer options to seek specialty addiction care and treatment, including medical management, or harm reduction tools, such as naloxone, fentanyl test strips, etc., and connection to community resources to support recovery and well-being,” Sandeep Kapoor, M.D., from Northwell Health, who was not involved in the study, said in a statement.