Baltimore rolls out new incentives, information-sharing program in bid to combat opioid crisis (Fierce Healthcare)
Baltimore hospitals will have new incentives for better addressing the opioid crisis—and sharing best practices with their counterparts across the city—under a new initiative announced by the city's top officials Monday.
Baltimore's 11 hospitals have agreed to participate in the program centered around identifying certain levels of responses to the opioid epidemic and recognizing hospitals that successfully implement them, the city said in a release. The effort was announced by Baltimore Mayor Catherine E. Pugh and Baltimore City Health Commissioner Leana Wen, M.D.
“Hospitals alone cannot end this epidemic, but it cannot be ended without them,” Wen said in a statement. “Together, we will build upon the work that’s already been done and make Baltimore City a national model for treating addiction alongside every other disease. That means treating addiction in our traditional health care institutions, including hospitals.”