ArticleDrug and alcohol dependence2019
Touchpoints - Opportunities to predict and prevent opioid overdose: A cohort study.
Article in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 113 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
113 citing papers in PubMed.
- Implementation of addiction consult services and bridge clinics in the HEALing communities study in Massachusetts.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2026Trial
- Effects of the Communities That HEAL intervention on initiation, retention, and linkage to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD): A cluster randomized wait-list controlled trial.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2025Trial
- Addiction Consult Services, Mortality, and Acute Care Utilization in Inpatients With Opioid Use Disorder: A Secondary Analysis of a Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2025Trial
- Recovery Capital and Subsequent Overdose Risk and Addiction Treatment Engagement Among Emergency Department Patients at High Risk of Opioid Overdose.Substance use & misuse · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Predicting overdose among individuals prescribed opioids using routinely collected healthcare utilization data.PloS one · 2020Trial
- "So what's gonna happen when I get out of here?" Qualitative barriers and facilitators to MOUD continuity post-release from jail.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2026Article
- Preparing Emergency Medical Services for Prehospital Buprenorphine: Examining a Train-the-Trainer Approach to Strengthening the Overdose Chain of Survival.Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open · 2026Article
- Barriers to Population Data Use in Overdose Fatality Reviews: Observational and Interview Study of Dashboard Deployment.JMIR human factors · 2026Observational
- Real-Time Expert Support for Addiction Care Across General Medical Settings: Evaluation of a Chat-Based Intervention.Substance use & addiction journal · 2026Article
- History of Naloxone Possession Among Rural and Urban Individuals Participating in Prison-Based Treatment: An Observational Study.Substance use & addiction journal · 2026Observational
- Brief Report on screening data from a randomized controlled trial of in-hospital buprenorphine initiation strategies.Research square · 2026Article
- Community coalition's diversity and targeted overdose prevention strategies designed to reach special populations.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- Impact of Substance Use Navigators on Initiation of Treatment for Substance Use Disorders and 30-Day Unplanned Readmission.Journal of general internal medicine · 2026Observational
- A comparison of opioid overdose risk behaviors by race and ethnicity among overdose survivors in Boston, MA, and San Francisco, CA.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- Perspectives on Clinical Champions Implementing Hospital-Based Opioid Treatment in US Hospitals.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Biosurveillance and the Opioid Crisis in Emergency Medicine: Qualitative Study of Physician Perspectives.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- A Comparison of Opioid Overdose Risk Behaviors by Race and Ethnicity Among Overdose Survivors in Boston, MA, and San Francisco, CA.Research square · 2026Article
- Opioid Use Disorder Care Presentations After High-deductible Health Plan Enrollment.Journal of addiction medicine · 2026Article
- Article
53 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMedical care, public health, and criminal justice systems encounters could serve as touchpoints to identify and intervene with individuals at high-risk of opioid overdose death. The relative risk of opioid overdose death and proportion of deaths that could be averted at such touchpoints are unknown.
methodsWe used 8 individually linked data sets from Massachusetts government agencies to perform a retrospective cohort study of Massachusetts residents ages 11 and older. For each month in 2014, we identified past 12-month exposure to 4 opioid prescription touchpoints (high dosage, benzodiazepine co-prescribing, multiple prescribers, or multiple pharmacies) and 4 critical encounter touchpoints (opioid detoxification, nonfatal opioid overdose, injection-related infection, and release from incarceration). The outcome was opioid overdose death. We calculated Standardized Mortality Ratios (SMRs) and Population Attributable Fractions (PAFs) associated with touchpoint exposure.
resultsThe cohort consisted of 6,717,390 person-years of follow-up with 1315 opioid overdose deaths. We identified past 12-month exposure to any touchpoint in 2.7% of person-months and for 51.8% of opioid overdose deaths. Opioid overdose SMRs were 12.6 (95% CI: 11.1, 14.1) for opioid prescription and 68.4 (95% CI: 62.4, 74.5) for critical encounter touchpoints. Fatal opioid overdose PAFs were 0.19 (95% CI: 0.17, 0.21) for opioid prescription and 0.37 (95% CI: 0.34, 0.39) for critical encounter touchpoints.
conclusionsUsing public health data, we found eight candidate touchpoints were associated with increased risk of fatal opioid overdose, and collectively identified more than half of opioid overdose decedents. These touchpoints are potential targets for development of overdose prevention interventions.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.