The number of drug-related emergency department visits increased by about 6% from 2022 to 2023, according to a report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
The agency published its annual report estimating drug-related emergency department visits in December.
The data from the report is drawn from the Drug Abuse Warning Network, a surveillance system that captures data from 53 participating hospitals. SAMHSA uses data from these hospitals to generate national estimates.
- There were an estimated 7.6 million drug-related ED visits in the US in 2023, a rate of 2,266 per 100,000 individuals.
- Rates of drug-related emergency department visits were highest among males, at 2,668 per 100,000 individuals, and among non-Hispanic or Latino individuals, at 2,391 per 100,000.
- Around two in three drug-related emergency department visits were individuals aged 26 to 64.
- Alcohol, cannabis and opioids were the most prevalent substances in drug-related emergency department visits in 2023. Alcohol was the most prevalent substance, involved in four in 10 drug-related emergency department visits.
- Alcohol-related visits decreased by 3.6% between 2022 and 2023, and opioid-related visits decreased by 3.7% compared to 2022. Cannabis-related visits increased by 4.6%.
- From 2022 to 2023, opioid-related emergency department visits involving fentanyl increased by 46%, while visits involving heroin decreased by 41%.
- About one in five drug-related ED visits in 2023 involved more than one substance.
Read the full report here.