News Archive

April is Minority Health Month

To raise awareness of the importance of improving the health of racial and ethnic minority populations and reducing health disparities, the month of April is Minority Health Month…

Managing Unhealthy Alcohol Use in Primary Care - New NIAAA Resources

April is Alcohol Awareness Month, and we’re sharing two new resources the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has released for managing unhealthy alcohol use in…

Substance Use Prevention Services in Primary Care Challenge - NIDA

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is launching the Substance Use Prevention Services in Primary Care Challenge. The United States is experiencing a significant behavioral…

Update on CMS Innovation Center Strategy Refresh

In October 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center announced a strategy refresh to chart a path for the next ten years of value-based care in the…

Plan Now - May is Mental Health Awareness Month

With the month of May approaching, the time is now to start planning for Mental Health Awareness Month! To lay the groundwork, SAMHSA prepared a web page with upcoming events,…

New Federal Resources for Factoring Social Determinants of Health into Clinical Practice

Integrating behavioral health and primary care is key to providing the collaborative, patient-centered, and whole-person clinical care needed to address biopsychosocial factors that…

Improving Patient Safety with Behavioral Health Integration

The Agency for Research and Quality (AHRQ) is the leading Federal agency for patient safety and quality research. AHRQ’s patient safety and quality work aims to accelerate and amplify…

Cannabidiol (CBD) – Potential Harms, Side Effects, and Unknowns – SAMHSA Advisory

SAMHSA has issued a new advisory on “Cannabidiol (CBD) – Potential Harms, Side Effects, and Unknowns”. This advisory introduces readers to CBD, how it is derived, and how it differs from…

Applications Open - Grant Funding for Management of SUD in Primary Care

Following up their January notice of intent, AHRQ has released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) announcement for the Management of Substance Use Disorders (SUD) in Primary Care and…

Broadband Essential to Expand Buprenorphine Accessibility

A new study, published in January 2023 in The Journal of Rural Health, examined the current accessibility of buprenorphine in the United States. It found that “23.9% of the US population…

NIMH Releases Strategic Framework for Addressing Youth Mental Health Disparities

Rates of psychological distress among young people have increased in the past three years. The pandemic has most affected those who were already vulnerable, including youth with…

Adapting Evidence-Based Practices for Under-Resourced Populations

In September 2022, the Substance Abuse  and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) published a new guide to assist mental health and substance use practitioners in the…

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 - How It Benefits Integrated Behavioral Health

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 reauthorizes major funding sources for substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery services and includes three bills that help facilitate…

Grant Funding for Management of SUD in Primary Care

AHRQ has posted a notice of intent for future publication of a Funding Opportunity Announcement to support the management of substance use disorders (SUD) in primary care and other…

Expanding Services for People Experiencing Homelessness – New Guide

The Substance Use and Mental Health Services Administration issued a new guide for Expanding Access to and Use of Behavioral Health Services for People at Risk for Experiencing…

Adolescent and Family Behavioral Health in the News

A recent study from the Health Care Cost Institute found that the share of children’s emergency room (ER) visits for mental health rose in April 2020 and remained high for the rest of…

Opioid Prescribing Guidelines Updated by CDC

As of November 4th, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have updated their CDC Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain — United States, 2022…

Alcohol Use Disorder - New Publications

The Substance Use and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recently posted a new guide regarding health policy for alcohol use disorder (AUD). Published in November,…

Drug and Alcohol Deaths Increasing in Older Adults - Resources for Primary Care

In the past two decades, the rate of drug overdose deaths for adults aged 65 and over has more than tripled.[1] From 2019 to 2020, the rate involving alcohol increased from 17.0 deaths…

FAQs for Treating Alcohol Use Disorder - A Resource for Primary Care Clinicians

Alcohol is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States, and as of 2019, nearly 15 million people ages 12 and older had an alcohol use disorder (AUD). While the Food…

Unhealthy Alcohol Use - New Resources on AHRQ Academy Portal

The Unhealthy Alcohol Use (UAU) Tools and Resources collection recently expanded by 142 new tools and resources. The additional items address: Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral…

New Substance Use Resources Released by the AHRQ Academy

The AHRQ Academy recently updated the MAT for OUD Tools and Resources collection. There were 65 new uploads primarily focused on the topics of Stimulant Use Disorder and Polysubstance…

ASAM Criteria 4th Edition Draft Standards Open for Public Comment

The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) released their 4th Edition Draft Standards of The ASAM Criteria® for public comment. These are the national standards for addiction…

Addressing Polysubstance in Primary Care - AHRQ Academy Releases New Resources

Pregnant and postpartum women who have a behavioral health condition are less likely to receive adequate care compared to women who are not pregnant or postpartum.[1],[2] Left untreated,…