The Triple Aim for Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome

For decades, the diagnosis of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) was relatively rare in the US; however, the recent epidemic of prescription and nonprescription opioid use across the country has made this once novel diagnosis common. 1 The number of infants diagnosed with NAS in the US has grown nearly 5-fold since 2000. Today, one infant with NAS is born every 25 minutes, accounting for an estimated $1.5 billion in hospital charges. 2 The rapid rise of NAS in our nurseries and neonatal intensive care units demands that improvements in research and care delivery systems keep pace.