News Archive

AHRQ Addresses Unhealthy Alcohol and Opioid Use as Growing Problems in Older Adults

The Generations Journal of the American Society on Aging published a special issue addressing the growing problem of substance use in older adults. This quarterly journal focuses on the…

Posted 02/10/21

New Unhealthy Alcohol Use Tools and Resources on Telehealth in AHRQ Academy Collection

In October 2019, AHRQ launched the Unhealthy Alcohol Use Initiative. This 3-year grant program aims to disseminate and implement into primary care practices evidence-based approaches to…

Posted 02/05/21

Opioid Epidemic and COVID-19 Pandemic: OUD Treatment via Telehealth

In a survey of primary care clinicians, one-third of respondents reported an increase in patients with substance use disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic. Preliminary data indicate the…

Posted 12/23/20

Opioid Epidemic and COVID-19 Pandemic: Deepening Disparities

This JAMA Network article warns of the “synergistic effects” of the COVID-19 pandemic and the opioid epidemic and how those effects will exacerbate existing health disparities. Some…

Posted 12/23/20

Opioid Epidemic and COVID-19 Pandemic: Dual Crises

A recent USA Today opinion piece posed a pressing question: “America is still in the middle of an opioid epidemic. Why did we stop talking about it?” Here is a brief recap of the opioid…

Posted 12/23/20

Medications for Addiction Treatment Retention in Adults With Opioid Use Disorder – Rapid Evidence Review

Nearly 50,000 Americans die annually from opioid overdose. While we know that medications for addiction treatment (MAT) save lives, retaining patients in MAT programs is difficult. The…

Posted 10/30/20

Behavioral Health Challenges Related to COVID-19

During late June 2020, 40 percent of U.S. adults reported struggling with mental health or substance use issues. Among those experiencing disproportionately worse behavioral health…

Posted 10/30/20

National Academies Address Integrated Behavioral Health in Primary Care

The Forum on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) hosted a virtual public workshop on primary care approaches…

Posted 10/08/20

Evidence Base for Telehealth

As part of healthcare transformation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth has greatly expanded. Many see this rapid expansion of telehealth not only as a solution to the…

Posted 10/08/20

Treatment of Stimulant Use Disorders: A SAMHSA Evidence-Based Resource

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released a guide (PDF, 17 MB) to support healthcare providers, systems, and communities seeking to treat…

Posted 07/31/20

** COVID-19 - Institutional Strategies To Enhance the Well Being of Healthcare Workers

A recent commentary in the Annals of Internal Medicine addresses the negative physical and psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers (HCWs). The authors share…

Posted 06/26/20

New Grants - HRSA’s Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program

On June 5, 2020, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), awarded $20.3 million to 44 recipients,…

Posted 06/26/20

Essential Care for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Patients

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will host a two-part webinar series examining approaches to help ease delivery of key components of care for people with…

Posted 05/26/20

New Reports Examine Effectiveness and Harm of Pain Treatment

Three new AHRQ-funded reports assess the effectiveness and harm of different kinds of chronic pain treatments. These systematic reviews present the current state of the science on…

Posted 05/26/20

**COVID 19 - Breaking Down Barriers to Treating OUD Pandemic

A recent blog post published by Health Affairs describes some of the barriers patients face trying to access opioid agonist therapy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many such therapies…

Posted 04/28/20

**Rural Hospitals Battling To Stay Alive During the COVID-19 Pandemic

A recent article published in The Guardian describes some of the hardships rural hospitals in the United States are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the pandemic has severely…

Posted 04/24/20

**COVID-19 Harm Reduction for Substance Users

Guidance for People Who Use Substances on COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus) has been posted by the Yale University School of Medicine. Two key messages are: “REMEMBER that people who use…

Posted 03/30/20

6 Tips From the MAT for OUD Playbook

The AHRQ Academy website recently released the Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder Playbook (MAT for OUD Playbook), a practical guide for implementing MAT in primary…

Posted 03/25/20

**COVID-19 and Your Behavioral Health

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has issued a resource about the COVID-19 pandemic, associated prevention and containment measures, and the impact…

Posted 03/25/20

National Drug Control Strategy and Treatment Plan

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) released the Administration’s National Drug Control Strategy 2020 (664KB), which “aims to reduce substance use through…

Posted 03/02/20

Six Building Blocks - Self-Service How-To Guide

The new Self-Service How-To Guide is a step-by-step approach, designed to support clinics as they independently implement effective, guideline-driven care for their patients with chronic…

Posted 03/02/20

CDC Seeks Members for new Opioid Workgroup

The Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (BSC/NCIPC) has established an Opioid Workgroup (OWG) to provide expert input and observations…

Posted 01/17/20

Opioid Survey Question Evaluation Symposium to be held in September 2020

In September of this year CDC will be hosting a symposium in Washington, DC focused on empirical evaluation of opioid-use related survey questions. In preparation for this meeting,…

Posted 01/17/20

Dissemination of Primary Care MAT Grantees Lessons Learned

One of the issues that further contributes to making the opioid epidemic problematic is the lack of treatment options for individuals who live in rural areas. In 2016, AHRQ invested in a…

Posted 01/15/20