Opioid Use Disorder Resources—October 2017 Update

The following new resources are available for patients seeking or providers offering treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD):

Department of Health and Human Services Resources

• Rural Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse Toolkit (link is external) (Rural Health information Hub)—Supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration, this toolkit provides evidence-based examples, promising models, program best practices, and resources organizations can use to implement substance abuse prevention and treatment programs.

• Decisions in Recovery: Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder (link is external) (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)—this handbook offers a wide variety of resources on recovery and treatment for OUD, including tools to help guide individuals in the decision-making process.

• Final Report: Opioid Use, Misuse, and Overdose in Women (link is external) (Office on Women’s Health)—OUD has been increasing at alarming rates, with deaths from prescription opioid and heroin overdoses increasing at more than twice the rate than that among men between 1999 and 2015. This report examines prevention, treatment, and recovery issues for women who misuse opioids, have OUD, or overdose on opioids.

Other Resources

• Opioid Use and Opioid Use Disorder in Pregnancy (link is external) (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)—this committee opinion provides recommendations and conclusions related to the need for early, universal screening and treatment interventions for opioid use and OUD in pregnancy.

• Opioid Task Force (link is external) (American Medical Association)—this web page provides task force recommendations, educational opportunities, and links to other tools for the prevention and treatment of OUD.

• Preventing Opioid Misuse in the States and Territories: A Public Health Framework for Cross-Sector Leadership (link is external) (Association of State and Territorial Health Officials)—this framework provides a public health-facilitated approach for States and territories to respond to the opioid crisis.

• Confronting Pain Management and the Opioid Epidemic: A New Interactive Guide (link is external) (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine)—this guide highlights trends related to opioid use and misuse and outlines the recommendations from the report Pain Management and the Opioid Epidemic: Balancing Societal and Individual Benefits and Risks of Prescription Opioid Use. The report (link is external) recommends policy changes, including a cultural shift in prescribing practices, stricter regulations of opioids, and policy interventions by State and local governments.

• Addressing the Opioid Epidemic: How the Opioid Crisis Affects Homeless Populations (link is external) (National Health Care for the Homeless Council)—this fact sheet describes the relationship between substance use disorders and homelessness, barriers to recovery for individuals without homes, and promising treatment practices.

• Addressing the Opioid Epidemic: Is There a Role for Physician Education? (link is external) (National Bureau of Economic Research)—this paper examines the relationship between opioid prescribing and education, concluding that physicians trained at top medical schools write fewer opioid prescriptions each year even after controlling for specialty and county of practice.