Naltrexone

For patients with cancer and substance use disorders, managing pain safely and effectively presents unique challenges. Clinicians must balance appropriate opioid prescribing with the risks of relapse, overdose, and fragmented care. This episode explores how addiction, oncology, and palliative care providers can work together to support both cancer treatment and recovery. Listeners will learn practical frameworks for managing cancer-related pain, coordinating care across specialties, and improving outcomes for patients navigating these intersecting and complex conditions.

Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) are life-saving, yet three-quarters of people who need them still can’t access them. This episode examines how pharmacy-based models are closing gaps in addiction care deserts, how pharmacists can strengthen interdisciplinary care teams, and why fair reimbursement for pharmacist services matters for sustaining care in the communities hit hardest by overdose.

Join us for this evidence-based course that cuts through the confusion, dispels longstanding myths, and gives you the practical knowledge to make confident, compassionate treatment decisions. You will leave with a clear understanding of when and how to use buprenorphine or methadone, how to employ shared-decision making with patients through the realities of neonatal withdrawal, and how to build a postpartum care plan that supports both mother and child long after delivery. Whether you are new to this patient population or looking to sharpen your clinical approach, this course meets you where you are and empowers you to do more.

Opioids are commonly prescribed for chronic pain, but are also associated with a risk for serious harms, including overdose and opioid use disorder. This course reviews risk factors for opioid misuse, opioid use disorder, and overdose in patients with chronic pain, explains methods for screening and assessing for problematic opioid use, reviews methods for mitigating risks associated with prescribed opioids, and details non-opioid treatment approaches for pain. The course is based on principles in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s guideline on opioids for chronic pain and reviews recent evidence on benefits and harms of opioids.

Patient-centered care has become a crucial approach when working with patients with substance use disorder (SUD). Unfortunately, the care continuum can be interrupted for patients with SUDs, often due to stigma and discrimination. Each interruption increases challenges in access to care and can lead to patient harm. Language can intentionally or unintentionally perpetuate stigma. As people who care for patients with SUDs, we need to learn their rights so we can advocate for them and change our language to reduce stigma. This course will discuss the importance of patient-centered care, improved language when discussing substance use, and advocacy strategies that clinicians can use when caring for people who use substances.

Opioid use disorder (OUD) has highly effective FDA-approved medications for its treatment. This course reviews and compares pharmacological treatment options for individuals with OUD, including methadone, buprenorphine (sublingual and injectable formulations), and naltrexone (oral and long-acting intramuscular formulations). Current evidence for each medication is reviewed in detail, and studies comparing each are discussed. The purpose and goal of medications for OUD are reviewed, and different treatment models are presented. The course includes case vignettes in which medication options for OUD are considered.