COVID-19 Research Grand Rounds: Examining the Intersection of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Opioid Epidemic Using Real World Data

The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the drug overdose epidemic in the United States. The evidence of the intersection of these public health crises has been recently emphasized in briefs by the CDC and the American Medical Association. This January, the CDC reported the all time record for overdose deaths in a 12-month period; opioid overdose deaths increased by 38 percent nationwide. In response to this crisis, the CDC, alongside other state and federal agencies, has urged the expanded availability of medically assisted treatment as well as the distribution of naloxone, a medication used to treat opioid overdose.

In this panel, we will feature two research teams that leveraged the COVID-19 database to better understand the availability and use of critical medications for substance use disorder during the pandemic. The researchers will present their work and share methodological considerations critical to exploring this important topic with Real World Data.