Academy Community

NIH will fund development of newer and longer-lasting treatments for #OUD. Longer-acting forms of drugs to treat individuals with #OUD that can be effective in keeping people off heroin, fentanyl, and other narcotics by giving them more time to recover. What does “longer-lasting” mean? Comment below and check out the interview with NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/10/03/nih-director-franc...

The Maternal Opioid Misuse (MOM) model aligns and coordinates care of pregnant and postpartum women Medicaid beneficiaries with #OUD. Integration of services for health, wellbeing, and recovery helps to get mothers with OUD and their infants the care they need. Check out the primary goals of the MOM model and types of funding periods here: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/cms-model-addresses-opioid-m...

The HHS Office for Civil Rights launched a new campaign to educate the public and address civil rights protections for individuals with #OUDs. Campaign goals include to improve access to evidence-based treatments for OUD for all people, to educate the public about civil rights protections for those with OUD, and more. Watch the full campaign video: https://www.youtube.com/watchv=1eToyf3_Fog&feature=youtu.be

Can the nation do better than fentanyl test strips in beating the opioid epidemic? SAMHSA’s Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use Elinore F. McCance-Katz, MD, PhD, argues that individuals addicted to opioids may not be able to responsibly and rationally choose to not use a substance despite any danger found by using fentanyl test strips.
“Is our goal simply to stop people from dying so they can continue a life of ‘safe’ heroin use?”
Check out the full article here: https://blog.samhsa.gov/2018/10/03/for-beating-the-opioid-crisis-america...

Poor or low-income elderly adults were more likely than middle- or high-income older adults to obtain 4 or more opioid prescriptions between 2015-2016. Additionally, in this time period annual rates of opioid use increased as health status declined. Read AHRQs MEPS brief that examines the relationship between socioeconomic status and opioid use among adults 65 and older. https://meps.ahrq.gov/data_files/publications/st515/stat515.shtml?utm_so...

We had a great discussion on joint dissemination efforts this afternoon - I'm looking forward to working with you all to get the "Clearinghouse of Collective Thinking" moving along!

We are excited to work with AHRQ grantees on lessons learned and dissemination efforts.

New Mexico, ECHO-F study grantee.

The effect of #OUD on neonates and infants is significant. Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is a group of conditions that may occur in a baby who was exposed to opioids in the womb before birth. It was estimated in March of 2018 that the incidence of NAS increased more than fivefold among infants covered by Medicaid between 2004 and 2014. Results of a novel study linking health and education data revealed that children with a history of NAS were significantly more likely to have a subsequent educational disability. Check out this recent research on lifelong effects of infants born with NAS: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2018/08/28/peds.2018...

Faith-based community and the prevention and treatment of opioid misuse: What and how? Participation of the faith community in nationwide efforts to fights against #SUDs is not only critical in preventing and treating #OUD, but supports individuals across the care continuum to long-term recovery. Find out what the department of Health and Human Services and SAMHSA are doing to promote the support of faith and community partners and remove barriers to care: https://www.hhs.gov/blog/2018/09/17/bringing-hope-and-healing-in-the-mid...

Innovative Primary Care Practices and achieving the Quadruple Aim. Patient-Centered Medical Homes (PCMH) is one strategy that states can use to deliver excellent integrated behavioral and physical health care and reduce costs. Read the article for more on mechanisms to achieving this goal: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29923845.

#OUD Treat the family, not just the patient. What do families need to know about OUD? How can families make treatment and recovery easier for patients? How can family members effectively deal with guilt they feel? Read the informing article here: https://wire.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/opioid-use-disorder-treat-fami...

Women and opioids: Something different is happening here. The pathway to opioid use is more likely to be through medical treatment for women than for me. Women are at an increased risk for pain and are more likely to be prescribed opioids for chronic pain conditions. Women are more likely to report opioid use for coping with negative emotions and pain. What are the implications of these findings? Comment below and read the article here: https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736%2818%2931203-0

PDMPs: Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs: programs that electronically store information for prescriptions filled by patients for drugs with misuse potential, including opioids. Four states – Kentucky, Missouri, Texas and New Mexico implemented robust PDMPs between 2012-2013. Results of the study indicate that robust PDMPs have the capacity to significantly reduce opioid dosages dispensed, percentage of patients receiving opioids, and high-risk prescribing. compared to weak or no PDMP. See the full article: https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/pdf/10.1377/hlthaff.2017.1321

Opioid Crisis Solutions Summit Roadmap for Action: A National Dialogue. Key recommendations include: Improve healthcare system approaches to pain management; Improve healthcare system approaches to prevent opioid misuse and expand access to evidence-based substance use disorder treatment and behavioral health services. Read the full report to learn about more priority areas that include lawmaker, regulator, and healthcare leader collaboration. https://www.hlc.org/app/uploads/download.php?dl=app/uploads/2018/06/Opio...

#InWhoseHands is Mental Health and Substance Use Workforce For Older Adults? Older adults, particularly those in rural communities, face many challenges when seeking care. Integrated behavioral health and primary care offers an opportunity to leverage the primary care workforce to address behavioral health and substance use needs for older adults, particularly in rural areas. Take a look at the article “Integrated Care for Older Adults In Rural Communities” to learn about challenges and innovations that improve health care for this population: http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/Publications/rural/Integrated-Care-Rural-Pol... Also, check out the Rural Health Care Services Outreach Program through the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Bedford Memorial Hospital that provides unique and innovative outreach and service delivery in rural communities: http://www.asaging.org/blog/integrating-primary-behavioral-healthcare-ol...

#SDOH to address Opioid Use Disorder. Social determinants of health have significant impact on the opioid epidemic. Interventions that aim to reform housing, employment, community engagement, and criminal justice may help to pave the way forward in resolving the opioid crisis. Read the white paper Unburying the Lead: Public Health Tools Are the Key to Beating the Opioid Epidemic, by Dayna Bowen Matthew: https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/es_20180123_un-bury...

#telebehavioralhealth. Register for SAMHSA’s Webinar Series on Telebehavioral Health. Dr. Marlene M. Maheu will speak on the use of technologies to better serve behavioral health patients. For consumers of behavioral health services and providers who may have the opportunity to use #telebehavioral health, register here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/2741231314309095939

The National Center for Integrated Behavioral Health is hosting a twitter chat to discuss Opioid Use Disorder and #MAT in Primary Care. Join tomorrow at 2pm with the hashtag #trainIBH and follow them @Penn_NCIBH. Find out more here: https://twitter.com/Penn_NCIBH

NASHP is inviting states to apply for State SUD Policy Institute: Leveraging Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) to address SUD. The initiative will support five state teams to develop innovative strategies to improve access and quality of #SUD treatment in #FQHCs. See requirements for core team members and more information: https://nashp.org/apply-today-nashps-state-sud-policy-institute-supports...

“State of the Art: Research, Models, Promising Practices, and Sustaining Integrated Care.” Presentations are available from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Federal Partners Integrated Care Meeting. Two nationally recognized experts in the AHRQ Academy Community—NIAC member Dr. Dr. Jürgen Unützer and AHRQ Academy Project Director Dr. Garrett Moran of Westat presented. How do we close the treatment gap? Check out Dr. Unützer’s Collaborative Care Model talk and more: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBXgZMI_zqfTbCNqHiRs7bOkgnmgKkZF0