New York Expands Emergency Opioid Treatment

(July 26, 2019)

New York will adopt a new opioid emergency treatment which the University of Buffalo developed, reports UBNow. The university’s emergency physicians designed the program, Buffalo MATTERS, to connect emergency room opioid victims to more treatment options. When victims of opioid overdose arrive in emergency rooms, doctors have the brief chance to give lasting help. Buffalo MATTERS provides medically-assisted treatment (MAT) to these patients, and they also receive follow-up appointments with local opioid recovery clinics. The buprenorphine treatment handles the initial withdrawal symptoms while the clinic visit can begin long-term recovery.

Buffalo MATTERS is available in 17 hospitals in western New York counties. The Blue Fund of BlueCross BlueShield of West New York enabled the program with $200,000 of funding. But now, with new support from the New York State Dept. of Health (NYSDOH), Buffalo MATTERS will expand to include more hospitals around the state (including the Albany and New York City areas). NYSDOH also plans to include an easier online referral process to better connect patients and opioid care.

To learn more about Buffalo MATTERS, look here. To find opioid treatment clinics or doctors in New York, look here or here.