GPP-01 - The Glass Bead Game: Harm Reduction and Its Impact on the Opioid and Overdose Crisis

Harm reduction is an approach that emphasizes engaging directly with people who use drugs to prevent overdose and infectious disease transmission.  The strategy also aims to improve the physical, mental, and social well-being of patients by offering low-threshold options for accessing substance abuse disorder treatment and additional health care and social services.  In light of the ongoing opioid epidemic and the recent upswing in overdose related deaths, it is imperative that emergency physicians are conversant in harm reduction techniques and understand that the ED is a unique setting in health care where the implementation of harm reduction can have significant community impact.