While tens of millions of people in the U.S. are estimated to have substance use disorders (SUDs), only about 15% of people receive care.
Of those who do not receive care, less than 6% believe they need treatment, according to a research letter published in JAMA Network Open. Only 2.7% of that population believe they need treatment and seek it out, which researchers called “alarming.”
“This cross-sectional study’s analysis underscores a public health crisis of SUD,” the study’s authors wrote. “These results call for urgent interventions to bridge the gap between the need for and receipt of SUD treatment, especially after the pandemic.”
In August 2024, researchers analyzed annual reports from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). The reports included data from over 657,500 U.S. civilian, noninstitutionalized people in the U.S. age 12 and older.
Researchers found that the number of people in need of SUD treatment more than doubled in recent years, increasing from 8.2% in 2023 to 17.1% in 2023. Increases were found in all types of SUD. Rates of drug use disorder (DUD) increased most drastically – from 2.6% to 9.6%. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) increased from 6.6% to 10.2%, and rates of opioid use disorder more than doubled, growing from 0.8% to 2.0%.
While the need for care drastically increased, the number of people in need who seek treatment diminished from 2013 to 2020. Treatment rates have rebounded since then and largely stabilized. The number of patients receiving care decreased from 9.3% in 2013 to 6.5% in 2020.
To get more patients into care, researchers recommend enhanced access to counseling services, expanded insurance coverage for treatments, targeted ad campaigns and integrating SUD treatment into primary care.
SUD treatment providers also have their eyes on integrating into primary care models. Jenni Lohse, chief legal and administrative officer of Aware Recovery Care, told Addiction Treatment Business in 2023 that lack of integration into primary care settings is a key challenge for the industry.
“Working with primary care providers is a core part of our work, but we still have long access times for our clients who lack primary care physicians (PCPs) in some areas,” Lohse said.