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- “Mississippi is showing what is possible when clinical leadership, public health infrastructure, and technology are aligned around patients,” said State Health Officer Dr. Dan Edney.
The Mississippi State Department of Health is now expanding access to substance use disorder treatment statewide after success of a novel pilot program.
“This work reflects a simple principle: Substance use disorder care should be available earlier, closer to home, and as part of normal health care, not only after a person reaches crisis,” said Dr. Dan Edney, MSDH Executive Director and State Health Officer. “Mississippi is showing what is possible when clinical leadership, public health infrastructure, and technology are aligned around patients.”
The program began as a pilot within six counties but now is offered across all 82 counties in Mississippi. MSDH is also exploring the possibility of providing this care in-home in the future to make it more flexible and accessible.
According to estimates based on averages from 2022-2023, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found that nearly 327,000 residents of Mississippi who are 12-years or older could have benefitted from such treatment, MSDH stated Tuesday.
MSDH records show about 708 Mississippians died from opioid overdoses in 2023.
Overdose deaths rose by more than a third from 2020 to 2021, including a 51% increase in deaths involving synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. In 2021 the number of deaths from opioid abuse totaled 788, of which nearly a third (255) were younger than 35. Other risk factors include being male and white, although the agency reports deaths from opioid use has shown steady increases in the black population since 2021.
“It takes an average of five years before someone’s dependence on a substance causes enough problems to make them seek specialty care, even though many of these patients are open to discussing it much sooner,” said Jonathan Hubanks, Director, Center for Injury Prevention and Control at MSDH. “This earlier window is where we have the best opportunity to intervene and improve outcomes.”
Utilizing a risk scale, the state of Mississippi can capitalize on its ability as being one of the few states in the nation to have the ability to directly provide clinic-based treatment for opioid abuse.
“We wanted to build something that feels simple for patients and staff, but is powered by sophisticated technology underneath,” said Julio Cespedes, Chief Innovation Officer at MSDH. “By using Epic—our electronic health record—and MyChart to support earlier screening, standardized intervention, and comprehensive follow-up, we have created a model that helps us reach patients before substance use disorder becomes severe. It’s now possible for small, resource-strapped teams like ours to extend a hand to every patient who might need it.”
Epic uses a risk scale to determine when a patient would benefit from positive reinforcement on the lower scales to more involved intervention techniques at higher risk levels. Those at the highest risk may receive a follow-up video call from an addiction specialist if they live in a rural area, breaking the barriers created by a lack of access to medical care in those parts of the state.
