Overdose prevention centers are health care: Treat them as such

Nearly 300 people across the country die of a drug overdose every day. This amounts to more than 107,000 people over the course of a year, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many die because they were alone and out of reach of lifesaving care. Others die because people within reach did not know how to use, or did not have, the needed lifesaving equipment.

These deaths are preventable. We could prevent them if we knew when and where overdoses were occurring, so that we could ensure immediate lifesaving care.

The good news is that the United States is becoming increasingly receptive to a proven way that we can act to save lives: opening overdose prevention centers (OPC).

As a doctor in primary care and substance use disorder treatment, it is my job to think about my patients’ wellbeing across the continuum of care, from preventive services to acute lifesaving interventions. I see OPC as an essential component of this continuum.