Opioid epidemic is swamping U.S. hospitals with 1.3M ER trips, hospitalizations

The opioid drug crisis is one of those issues that might not hit home unless you have a personal experience with a family member or friend, but the trickle-down impacts of the problem are effecting all of us in less obvious ways. And one area where the crisis is putting pressure on our systems is in our hospitals and emergency rooms. In 2014, opioid-related cases resulted in 1.27 million emergency room visits; that’s an increase of nearly 100% from just ten years earlier.