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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 0.69 MB] and Volume 2 [PDF 1.28 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 128

2025 National Guidelines for a Behavioral Health Coordinated System of Crisis Care

This new publication provides guidance and highlight effective practices for crisis care services across the country. SAMHSA has identified the essential elements for an effective crisis continuum such that everyone in the nation has a robust system that meets their needs, one that includes “someone to contact, someone to respond, and a safe place for help.”
Format
Guide
Audience
Behavioral Health Providers
Medical Providers
Other Team Members
Policymakers and Payers
Source
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Year
Resource Type
PDF
File Size
1596 KB

Using SAMHSA Funds to Implement Evidence-Based Contingency Management Services

This Advisory describes a change in funding for Contingency Management (CM) and applicable guardrails. It also outlines the evidence underlying CM and permissible uses of funding for this treatment intervention. At this time, the change in funding applies only to State Opioid Response (SOR) and Tribal Opioid Response (TOR) grants (subject to an update to grant terms and conditions).
Format
Advisory
Audience
States
Source
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Year
Resource Type
PDF
File Size
430 KB

A Federally Qualified Health Center and Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Partnership in Rural Missouri

This case study explores implementation of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) through a partnership between a Missouri-based federally qualified health center (FQHC) and Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC).
Format
Report/Paper/Issue Brief
Audience
Medical Providers
Behavioral Health Providers
Other Team Members
Source
Centers for Health Care Strategies (CHCS)
Year
Resource Type
PDF
File Size
168 KB

Building Healthy Futures: Addressing Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders During Pregnancy and Postpartum

This report from the Center for Health Care Strategies examines access to care challenges for individuals with mental health disorders and/or SUD and outlines recommendations for evidence-based, person-centered perinatal services. The report highlights innovative, community-rooted programs that seamlessly integrate services through a no-wrong door approach.
Format
Report/Paper/Issue Brief
Audience
Patients
Families
Communities
States
Policymakers and Payers
Source
Center for Health Care Strategies
Year
Resource Type
PDF
File Size
678 KB

Community Member Engagement Resource Center

This resource center offers practical guidance to help Medicaid stakeholders, including community-based organizations, engage community members in policy and program design development, especially as a means of increasing health equity.
Format
Web Page
Audience
Communities
Policymakers and Payers
States
Medical Providers
Behavioral Health Providers
Source
Center for Healthcare Strategies (CHCS)
Year
Resource Type
Web Page

Comprehensive Approaches and Cross-Cutting Tools

Examples on this page illustrate how several different states have taken a comprehensive approach through overall system transformation and/or strategic disruptive investments.
Format
Toolkit
Audience
Policymakers and Payers
Communities
States
Medical Providers
Behavioral Health Providers
Other Team Members
Source
National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP)
Year
Resource Type
Web Page

Conceptual Framework and Strategic Considerations for Modernizing Behavioral Health Systems

This page and graphic provides a high-level framework for a modernized behavioral health system. The conceptual frame synthesizes key components of a behavioral health continuum of care and cross-cutting principles from expert input and best practice approaches.
Format
Toolkit
Audience
Policymakers and Payers
Communities
States
Medical Providers
Behavioral Health Providers
Other Team Members
Source
National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP)
Year
Resource Type
Web Page

Crosswalk of National Behavioral Health Workforce Recommendations

This actionable roadmap shares a Collective Impact approach to elevate solutions that require a cross-sector effort to address long-standing challenges and complex multisystem solutions for expanding and solidifying the behavioral health workforce.
Format
Report/Paper/Issue Brief
Audience
Behavioral Health Providers
Policymakers and Payers
States
Source
Center for Workforce Solutions
Year
Resource Type
PDF
File Size
2041 KB

Defining the State Role in Primary Care Reform

This issue brief and accompanying federal alignment tool offer a template for systematically evaluating how state activities align with each of the federal government's primary care intiatives. It also describes six key activities that will help states best leverage their authority.
Format
Report/Paper/Issue Brief
Audience
States
Policymakers and Payers
Source
Milbank Memorial Fund
Year
Resource Type
PDF
File Size
390 KB