Educational Activities Archives

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.

Brain development during adolescence makes youth particularly vulnerable to both initiating substance use and developing substance use disorders (SUD). Alcohol and cannabis use are both common and the impacts of these substances on the developing brain leads to a predictable set of consequences. Primary and secondary prevention and treatment can all improve outcomes. This module discusses Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) to identify and address substance use, and the medical management of SUD treatment in primary care.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in 2019, only 10% of adults in the U.S with any substance use disorder (SUD) received treatment in part because effective evidence-based treatments for SUDs can be difficult to access in many communities.  CCBHCs help address this issue, delivering easily accessible and effective outpatient behavioral health care and SUD treatment through activities including expanded operating hours, same-day and walk-in appointments, outreach to sidelined populations and moving service delivery beyond clinic walls to reach people in their homes and in the community.

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.

This activity focuses on the assessment, mitigation and management of risk when prescribing opioids for analgesia. Learners are introduced to the concept of universal precautions and their role in opioid therapy, as well as to practical monitoring and documentation strategies. The fundamental principles of urine drug testing and interpretation are also reviewed, as is the differential diagnosis of opioid misuse. Special attention is given to overdose prevention, naloxone co-prescribing, and how to recognize and respond to an emerging opioid use disorder when prescribing chronic opioid therapy for pain.