$1.5 million grant supports alternatives to opioids initiative at University Hospitals

A grant of nearly $1.5 million from the Department of Health and Human Services through its Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will enable University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center to develop and implement an Alternatives to Opioids (ALTO) program within its Emergency Department (ED).

The program aims to decrease opioid use in the ED by increasing provider knowledge of integrative therapies such as music therapy and acupuncture, implementing these modalities within the emergency department, and providing sustained outpatient follow-up through UH Connor Whole Health. The program is led by Kiran Faryar, MD, MPH, Director of Research, Department of Emergency Medicine; Christine Davis, MBA, Project Manager, Center for Emergency Medicine; and Sam Rodgers-Melnick, MPH, LPMT, MT-BC, a researcher with UH Connor Whole Health.

UH will use these funds to highlight and refine how evidence-based integrative therapies such as music therapy and acupuncture can be applied within the emergency medicine workflow. UH is the only Cleveland hospital to receive this funding.

We are providing therapies that have never been implemented at this scale in the UH emergency department, in order to best care for patients with acute pain. When prescribing opioids there is always the potential for abuse. Data shows both music therapy and acupuncture improve pain and anxiety for patients with short term and long-term pain. This will be an evidence-based technique we can offer patients without the potential risk of substance use disorder.”

Kiran Faryar, MD, MPH, Director of Research, Department of Emergency Medicine, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center 

The comprehensive approach to combating the opioid crisis comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports U.S. drug overdose deaths decreased by 10 percent. Multiple programs launched at UH over the past several years have helped make a difference. An Ohio Department of Health report revealed a 9 percent decline in overdose deaths across the state. In 2023, Ohio recorded 4,452 unintentional drug overdose deaths, down from 4,915 in 2022.

“This is an expanded care offering to our patients expected to demonstrate feasibility and hopefully efficacy of integrative therapies in the emergency department,” said Davis. “We hope it will reduce current rates of opioids use, both prescribing rate and patient utilization rate, and pave the way for more patients to access alternative care.”

The goal for the UH Cleveland Medical Center ED-ALTO program is to demonstrate integrative therapies are a short-term and long-term solution for pain relief; showcase that their application is feasible in the emergency department setting; and ultimately decrease the number of opioids prescribed for acute pain.

“Our long history of practice-based research and clinical trials at UH has demonstrated that acupuncture and music therapy can be integrated within clinical care, provide clinically significant pain relief, and help patients better manage stress and anxiety associated with their health conditions,” said Rodgers-Melnick, Co-Principal Investigator. “With this award, we will be able to provide these modalities at the critical moment when patients present to the ED with conditions such as sickle cell pain crises, musculoskeletal injuries, and abdominal pain. “Through providing interventions in the ED and then connecting patients with follow-up care, we will not only address patients’ acute pain, but also better equip them to manage pain in the future with less exposure to opioids.”

UH Cleveland Medical Center Emergency Department has started to offer these services to patients.