2021 AM Posters-Syringe Exchange Services in Primary Care

Syringe Exchange Services in Primary Care

Pdf Summary

A clinic offering syringe exchange services saw positive results during a 9-month period of operation. They processed 355 encounters with 178 participants, 59 of whom were first-time participants. A total of 17,414 used syringes were disposed of, and 22,590 sterile syringes were distributed. Utilization of the services increased each month, and the majority of participants were community members who did not seek medical care at the clinic. However, some participants became new patients at the clinic through syringe exchange referrals. The participants who established medical care pursued a range of services, with many interested in HIV, HCV, and STI testing and treatment, MOUD, and psychiatry. The clinic's success in providing expanded harm reduction services indicates that primary care settings can play a significant role in addressing substance use disorder and reducing the transmission of infectious diseases among people who inject drugs. The clinic-based syringe exchange program demonstrated that PWIDs are open to harm reduction services in non-traditional settings and can serve as a meaningful route for them to engage with primary care. The most common requests for primary care from this population were STI and infectious disease testing and treatment, MOUD initiation, psychiatric care, and physical examinations. Limitations of the project included early data, societal and organizational stigma, legislative restrictions, and funding access. The authors suggest expanding harm reduction services in all communities, particularly in primary care clinics that serve PWIDs. Providing harm reduction services, including syringe exchange programs, in primary care settings can lead to reductions in blood-borne infections, hospitalizations, emergency department utilization, and substance use, while also facilitating engagement in substance use disorder treatment.

Keywords

clinic

syringe exchange services

positive results

participants

harm reduction services

primary care settings

substance use disorder

infectious diseases

PWIDs

engagement in treatment

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