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AHRQ: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Substance Use Tools & Resources   

Read the Guide

This collection of tools and resources is for providers, staff, and patients who offer or use services to address substance use, and other interested stakeholders. This collection was originally established following an environmental scan on implementing medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder (OUD) in rural primary care. (See PDFs of Volume 1 (PDF - 609 KB) and Volume 2 (PDF - 1.3 MB) of that scan). Items have been continuously added to this collection since then, and the collection has expanded to cover substance use more broadly, rather than just MAT for OUD.

Displaying 1 - 10 of 100

Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 2023–2024 (PDF - 616 KB KB)

This CDC data brief reports that U.S. age‑adjusted drug overdose death rates fell significantly from 2023 to 2024 across all demographic groups and drug categories, marking the largest annual decline in the past decade.
Format
Report/Paper/Issue Brief
Audience
Policymakers and Payers
Medical Providers
Behavioral Health Providers
Source
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Year
Resource Type
PDF

NDEWS Weekly Briefings

The website releases the weekly briefings that curate recent news, research, surveillance data, and emerging drug trends from the U.S.
Format
Web Page
Audience
Medical Providers
Behavioral Health Providers
Other Team Members
Policymakers and Payers
States
Source
National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS)
Year
Resource Type
Web Page

Sentinel Site Reports

This page provides monthly and archived Sentinel Site Reports from the National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS), summarizing local drug‑use trends, emerging substances, overdose patterns, and other surveillance findings from communities across the U.S.
Format
Web Page
Audience
Medical Providers
Behavioral Health Providers
Other Team Members
Policymakers and Payers
States
Communities
Source
National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS)
Year
Resource Type
Web Page

2025 AMA Report on Substance Use and Treatment: Progress, Policy and Future Directions (PDF - 6.6 MB KB)

This report presents data on substance use and treatment. It identifies existing gaps in pain care, treatment for opioid use disorder, naloxone, and emerging threats such as polysubstance use and cannabis use disorder. Though, opioid-related deaths have dropped recently, the report concludes that the opioid epidemic is evolving faster than our systems are.
Format
Report/Paper/Issue Brief
Audience
Medical Providers
Behavioral Health Providers
Other Team Members
Source
American Medical Association (AMA)
Year
Resource Type
PDF

Behind the Numbers: Making Sense of Trends in the Drug Supply and Overdose Rates

This webinar recording explores why novel psychoactive substances and new markets have emerged in recent years and breaks down recent overdose data trends and gaps.
Format
Webinar/Video
Audience
States
Policymakers and Payers
Medical Providers
Behavioral Health Providers
Communities
Source
Overdose Prevention Network
Year
Resource Type
Web Page

Blueprint for a National Prevention Infrastructure for Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders

This interactive resource highlights findings from the 2025 report, Blueprint for a National Prevention Infrastructure for Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders and includes actionable recommendations for various audiences.
Format
Web Page
Audience
Communities
Policymakers and Payers
Graduate Education
Behavioral Health Providers
Medical Providers
Source
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Year
Resource Type
Web Page

Evolving Overdose Response (PDF - 1771 KB KB)

These webinar slideshelp programs update their overdose response protocols when sedatives are in their local drug supply. Contents include xylazine basics, responding to an overdose with sedatives on board, different forms of naloxone, compassionate comebacks, and other tools programs may consider when responding to overdoses.
Format
Other
Audience
Communities
States
First Responders
Families
Source
Thomas Jefferson University
Year
Resource Type
PDF

Fentanyl Crisis and Narcan Overdose Prevention Guide for Families and Communities

This blog post discusses the trends and dangers of illicit fentanyl use. It highlights strategies to help recognize the signs of a fentanyl overdose and important steps to handling a suspected overdose.
Link
https://rehabnet.com/fentanyl-crisis-narcan-overdose-prevention/
Format
Web Page
Audience
Families
Communities
Source
RehabNet
Year
Resource Type
Web Page