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AHRQ: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Substance Use Tools & Resources   

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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 115

Connecting Primary Care Patients to Substance Use Treatment: Successful Referral to Treatment

This brief highlights how states can strengthen the referral to treatment component of SBIRT by supporting provider training, team based care, warm handoffs, follow up services, and technology enabled referral systems that help primary care patients access timely substance use disorder treatment and recovery supports.
Format
Report/Paper/Issue Brief
Audience
States
Communities
Policymakers and Payers
Source
National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP)
Year
Resource Type
Web Page

Empowering Rural Communities: Overcoming Barriers to Treatment (PDF - 687 KB)

This webinar highlights the unique challenges rural communities face in accessing substance use disorder treatment and presents innovative, community-driven strategies—such as mobile clinics, telehealth, and local partnerships—to expand care and build recovery‑ready environments.
Format
Webinar/Video
Audience
Medical Providers
Behavioral Health Providers
Communities
Source
Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) Network
Year
Resource Type
PDF

Evidence-Based Navigator Tool

The Evidence Based Practice Navigator Tool provides information on effective interventions for opioid use disorder and pain, including implementation approaches, costs, barriers, outcomes, and research needs to support evidence based decision making.
Format
Toolkit
Audience
Medical Providers
Behavioral Health Providers
Other Team Members
Source
HEAL Data2Action (HD2A) Research Adoption Support Center (RASC)
Year
Resource Type
Web Page

Integrating Physical and Behavioral Health: Addressing Co-occurring Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders with Chronic Physical Illnesses (PDF - 848 KB)

This paper describes how integrated physical and behavioral health care models can better serve people with co-occurring mental health, substance use, and chronic physical health conditions by using interdisciplinary teams, strong communication systems, and coordinated care across providers.
Format
Report/Paper/Issue Brief
Audience
Medical Providers
Behavioral Health Providers
Other Team Members
Source
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Year
Resource Type
PDF

Telehealth & Prescribing Medications for Opioid Use Disorder

This video explains how telehealth can expand access to opioid use disorder treatment and outlines practical considerations for safely prescribing medications like buprenorphine remotely.
Format
Webinar/Video
Audience
Medical Providers
Behavioral Health Providers
Other Team Members
Source
American Society of Addiction Medicine
Year
Resource Type
Video

Understanding Privacy in Substance Use Treatment

This brief animated video explains the privacy rights of adults receiving substance use disorder treatment and shows how parents and caregivers can support their loved one's recovery while respecting health privacy laws such as 42 CFR Part 2.
Format
Webinar/Video
Audience
Families
Medical Providers
Behavioral Health Providers
Source
Center of Excellence for Protected Health Information
Year
Resource Type
Web Page

Expanding Access to Substance Use Disorder Treatment: Innovations Across the Justice and Reentry Continuum (PDF - 644 KB)

This issue brief discusses state opioid use disorder intiatives tailored to the needs of justice-involved indidviduals. It highlights ways in which the State Opioid Response (SOR) grant can be used to help expand access to evidence-based treatment across the correctional and reentry continuum.
Format
Report/Paper/Issue Brief
Audience
Medical Providers
Behavioral Health Providers
Communities
States
Source
National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Agency Directors (NASADAD)
Year
Resource Type
PDF

Telehealth Policy Finder

State-level policy information related to telehealth, including for Medicaid, Medicare and parity for private insurance.

Format
Web Page
Audience
Other Team Members
Policymakers and Payers
States
Source
Center for Connected Health Policy
Year
Resource Type
Web Page