Educational Activities Archives

This Advisory provides comprehensive information for hospitals and associated healthcare facilities on best practices and recommendations for implementing and expanding treatment of opioid use disorder with methadone in these settings.

Over 2.5 million adults in the U.S. are diagnosed with OUD. In 2022, 12.7% of ED visits involved opioids. Yet only 25% of those who need treatment receive recommended MOUD. MOUDs are highly effective treatments that have been shown to decrease opioid use, cravings and transmission of infectious disease, and to increase retention in treatment. As the opioid epidemic continues to impact people across the U.S., the ED represents a critical access point to the health care system, supporting people with OUD by initiating MOUD, such as buprenorphine, and connecting them to low-threshold, easy-to-access care for continued treatment.

Emergency Department Bridge Programs allow ED physicians to connect patients in the ED with comprehensive addiction care. While the benefits of bridge programs for patients with opioid use disorder are known, what’s less understood is how these programs affect the lives of the providers themselves. For a paper published in Academic Emergency Medicine last year, researchers interviewed providers about these programs and found that patients were not the only benefactors.

This session explores the clinical and policy landscape of providing medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in jails, prisons, and reentry settings. Dr. Arthur Robin Williams and Dr. Peter Treitler review recent research on the effectiveness of MOUD in reducing overdose and improving post-release treatment engagement. The session highlights key differences among methadone, buprenorphine, and extended-release naltrexone, including regulatory and logistical considerations unique to correctional environments. Learners will examine policy updates, case-based examples, and implementation strategies that support evidence-based treatment access. The session also addresses interdisciplinary collaboration, diversion concerns, and continuity of care across incarceration and reentry.

This educational activity, presented by Dr. Phillip Coffin, explores the evolving landscape of methamphetamine use amidst the growing presence of fentanyl. Attendees will gain insights into current morbidity and mortality trends, the physiological mechanisms behind methamphetamine toxicity, and evidence-based interventions for managing methamphetamine use disorder (MeUD). Emphasis will be placed on comprehensive prevention, treatment strategies, and addressing the long-term cardiovascular and neuropsychiatric impacts associated with chronic use.

The learner is presented with foundational information on pain treatment, with a focus on chronic pain. The module reviews material on the sociopsychobiological model of pain and how that impacts treatment approaches, the evidence for pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies for pain, and the recommended strategies for managing chronic pain.