Best Practices in Substance Use Disorders to Achieve Treatment Equity in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry

Abstract

People with substance use disorders (SUD) who are hospitalized often have worse medical outcomes and face treatment inequity. Individuals from racially and ethnically minoritized groups face structural racism in addition to the general stigma against people with substance use disorders. Outpatient racial disparities in SUD treatment, such as rates of buprenorphine prescription, may be perpetuated if unaddressed during medical hospitalizations. Thus, psychiatric consultation or addiction treatment services have the potential to reduce systemic inequities in access and initiation of evidence-based SUD treatments. We describe best practices that addiction treatment services can follow to move towards equity in treating hospitalized patients with SUDs, particularly for minoritized groups. Areas of improvement include access to addiction consultation services, minimization of patient-directed discharges, buprenorphine initiation, access to harm-reduction resources, incorporation of lived experience, referrals to post-discharge treatment, and education. [ Psychiatr Ann . 2023;53(1):23–27.]