Educational Activities Archives

Lab testing in the assessment of substance use disorders may involve many different substrates, though urine drug testing (UDT) dominates clinical practice. This course is meant to provide a short guide to effective use of lab testing in the treatment of the patient with a substance use disorder, which, to a surprising degree, is often misused or misunderstood. The course describes the clinical role of lab testing to guide treatment and not to be punitive. To properly use and interpret UDT, it reviews common false positives and false negatives that might occur in the immunologic-based first step in UDT. To understand confirmatory gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, it goes on to describe the metabolism of common opioids and benzodiazepines, because the detected substance is often just a downstream metabolite of several possible parent compounds to which the patient was exposed. The course concludes with a discussion of the difference between UDT for clinical purposes versus forensic ones.

Overdose is the leading cause of accidental injury death in the United States, surpassing motor vehicle crashes, claiming more than 100,000 American lives annually in 2022 and 2023. Promisingly, overdose deaths dropped to 80,341 in 2024. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid sold as heroin and counterfeit prescription opioids, and commonly contaminating cocaine and methamphetamine, is driving surges in overdose deaths in most communities. This course will introduce tools to combat overdose, which include overdose education and naloxone distribution, compassionate overdose response, drug checking, engagement and treatment, and safety planning.

Stimulant use, including cocaine, methamphetamine and prescription stimulants, continues to be a growing and urgent public health concern. According to the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 9 million people in the U.S. had used stimulants not as prescribed in the past year. Though opioids are often the focus of overdose conversations, stimulant-related overdose deaths reached an estimated 51,630 in 2024, while 59% of all overdoses from January 2021 through June 2024 involved a stimulant (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2025). These trends underscore the critical need for effective treatment and engagement strategies. Several evidence-based behavioral therapies exist to help providers treat stimulant use disorder. This webinar will outline the clinical and administrative approaches to assess, treat and support people experiencing stimulant use disorder.

Explore how to effectively address the association SUD and OUD to improve care for individuals at risk for and/or experiencing co-occurring SUD and suicidality. Attendees will hear from two leading experts in suicide prevention and behavioral health.

Join our 4-session online case-based learning collaborative series focused on treating opioid use disorder. Delve into strategies to effectively assess and manage opioid withdrawal and explore real-world cases provided by addiction experts, applying knowledge to practical situations. Each session is presented live online and spans 1.5 hours. Designed for healthcare team members new to treating patients with opioid use disorder and opioid withdrawal, the series aims to offer additional insights, knowledge, and confidence. 

Co-occurring psychiatric conditions are frequently seen in patients with substance use disorders. Clinicians should be alert to the signs and symptoms of common psychiatric disorders and should understand how to distinguish independent psychiatric disorders from substance-induced disorders. Depressive disorders and anxiety disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder, are the most common co-occurring conditions, though ADHD is often encountered across the range of substance use disorders. Substance use disorder patients with co-occurring psychiatric disorders will respond to most standard psychological and pharmacological treatments for these psychiatric conditions, though clinicians should avoid the use of scheduled medications and must always focus on sobriety as a primary treatment goal. Treatment that integrates addiction and psychiatric care is the most effective.