Trainings and Resources

This resource is intended to provide guidance on the issues that OTPs should consider as they navigate the COVID-19 crisis.

This is one of three courses that comprise the Opioid Use Disorder Education Program (OUDEP), an innovative interprofessional continuing education program produced by Harvard Medical School (HMS). Identification, Counseling, and Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder focuses on current best practices in identification and treatment of OUD, including treatment and maintenance with different medications, psychosocial approaches to treatment, addressing co-occurring psychiatric disorders, and preventing and treating overdose.

Although the crisis has affected large swaths of the U.S. population, it has affected certain segments of the population with an extra level of intensity—justice-involved populations, rural populations, veterans, adolescents and young adults, and persons who inject drugs. For each identified population, this manuscript reviews why it is an important area of focus, current barriers encountered in accessing care, promising approaches in supporting this population, and high-impact research and action priorities.

Many of these negative outcomes are preventable. Opioid overdose is reversible through the timely administration of the medication naloxone and, where needed, the provision of other emergency care. However, community access to naloxone was historically limited by laws and regulations that pre-date the overdose epidemic. In an attempt to reverse the unprecedented increase in preventable overdose deaths, all fifty states and the District of Columbia have now modified their laws to increase access to naloxone, the standard first-line treatment for opioid overdose. Most states have also modified criminal law to provide limited immunity to individuals who seek help in an overdose emergency. 

Pharmacists can play an important role in improving access to medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD), especially for individuals living in rural areas where health care workforce shortages are pervasive. Learn how pharmacists can provide Medication Administration Services (MAS) and establish Collaborative Practice Agreements (CPA) in coordination with one or more treating health care providers.

Opioid dependence is a chronic relapsing disorder with considerable individual and global public health burden. The current standard of care for opioid dependence includes treatment with methadone or sublingual (SL) buprenorphine or buprenorphine-naloxone (hereafter, buprenorphine), combined with psychosocial and behavioral support. Both medications are associated with reductions in mortality, illicit opioid use, bloodborne viral infections, and criminal behavior as well as better cost-effectiveness than no treatment or psychosocial treatment alone. Buprenorphine is a partial μ-opioid receptor agonist, enabling office-based treatment for nonsupervised or take-home use of the medication. However, SL formulations of buprenorphine are prone to nonmedical use (eg, injecting, diversion), prompting models of care, particularly in the early phases of treatment, requiring regular attendance at clinics or pharmacies for administration of doses.

Background As the opioid overdose crisis persists and take-home naloxone (THN) programmes expand, it is important that the intervention is targeted towards those most likely to use it. We examined THN program participants to 1) describe those that return for refills, specifically those that reported multiple use (supersavers) and 2) to determine what rescuer characteristics were associated with higher rates of THN use. Methods This study included a cohort of consenting THN recipients from June 2014- June 2021 who completed initial and refill questionnaires from a widespread program in Norway. Adjusted logistic regression was used to explore associations with higher rates of THN use. ‘Super-savers’ reported three or more THN uses.

Apply now to HRSA’s Graduate Psychology Education (GPE) program to receive funding for training doctoral health psychology students, interns, and post-doctoral residents in behavioral health and substance use disorder prevention and treatment services. Through the GPE program, HRSA aims to prepare and increase the mental and behavioral health workforce to address the opioid crisis in high-need areas of the country. The program also supports faculty development of health service psychology. Learn more about eligibility, funding, and the period of performance on HRSA’s GPE Program page.