Educational Activities Archives

Transitioning from jails and prisons back into the community can be especially difficult for people with opioid use disorders (OUD). Research suggests that opioid use overdose increases dramatically within the first 30 days of citizens returning to the community. Further, individuals recently released from incarceration face a risk of opioid overdose ten times greater than the general public. During these transitions it is critical that people receive seamless and appropriate resources in order to prevent overdose and return to use. This proper transition can help lower health care costs, hospitalizations and emergency department visits, as well as decrease mortality and recidivism for justice-involved individuals, yet at this time only 13 states have sought Medicaid waivers to provide SUD services pre-release. Join us today as we explore how programs can successfully develop services to ensure returning citizens receive appropriate care to address OUD.

The current opioid and drug overdose crisis continues to have a devastating impact on morbidity and mortality in the United States. With the rise in use of potent synthetic opioids like fentanyl in the drug supply, creating linkages to comprehensive substance use related services is critical. Opioid Treatment Programs (OTP) and the comprehensive care and services they provide play a vital role in addressing this need, yet challenges remain. Despite clear evidence of the benefits of OTP’s, access to OTPs in some parts of the country is limited; stigma related to the use of methadone remains a challenge. Yet in the face of these headwinds, many OTPs are providing comprehensive leading-edge services to address the opioid and drug overdose crisis.

Buprenorphine induction, performed at the right time, remains one of the most satisfying procedures a patient and his/her physician can experience. While there may be initial fears or concerns about precipitating withdrawal, if the patient presents with objective signs of withdrawal and doses are slowly titrated upwards, the patient will leave the office much happier than he/she has been in a long time. The physician will see immediate positive results — a rare occurrence in clinical practice.

This Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) reviews the use of the three Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medications used to treat opioid use disorder (OUD)—methadone, naltrexone, and buprenorphine—and the other strategies and services needed to support recovery for people with OUD.

Because Buprenorphine is safer and easier to prescribe than methadone, patients can take more than one dose home at a time. The convenience of this kind of prescription carries a risk of abuse.

Drug interactions are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Methadone and buprenorphine are frequently prescribed for the treatment of opioid use disorder.