Educational Activities Archives

SAMHSA: Learn about the federal statutes, regulations, and guidelines that apply to medications for practitioners and opioid treatment programs (OTPs).

There are not enough treatment providers to meet the needs of our patients with OUD. Telemedicine can increase access to patients who require ongoing substance use disorder treatment. However, there are numerous regulatory, logistical and other clinical questions, which are also rapidly changing, around implementing telemedicine delivery of medication treatment for OUD (tele-MOUD). In this presentation, we will: present evidence on tele-MOUD but focus most of the discussion on clinical considerations in using implementing telemedicine to deliver quality buprenorphine treatment.

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.

A new law soon goes into effect that requires new or renewing DEA licensees, as of June 27, 2023, to have completed a total of at least eight hours of training on opioid or other substance use disorders and the appropriate treatment of pain. Dr Yngvild Olsen, director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, joins AAAP to discuss the requirements going into effect, what should clinicians know about the changes, and how to best prepare.

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.

Judge Kim McGinnis, PhD, will use her training in neuropharmacology and as a treatment court judge to dive into the neuroscience and practicalities of medicine for opioid use for justice-involved individuals. Judge McGinnis will describe how changes commonly found in the brain of people struggling with substance misuse and trauma may lead to unexpected behaviors. This will help justice stakeholders better understand why sometimes justice-involved people respond in unexpected ways to services and court requirements. The judge will explain the mechanisms of different substances of misuse and medicine for opioid use disorder. The audience will learn from a judge’s perspective how MOUD enhances outcomes and saves lives.