U.S. flag

An official website of the Department of Health & Human Services

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 11 - 20 of 146

Caring for LGBTQI+ Patients Medicare Learning Network Training

This training guides practitioners in treating LGBTQI+ patients. Its sections define this population and discuss how practitioners can improve health outcomes through best practices.
Format
Web-Based Course
Audience
Medical Providers
Behavioral Health Providers
Other Team Members
Communities
First Responders
Source
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
Year
Resource Type
Web Page

CMCS Calls for Improving Service Access for Enrollees Experiencing Homelessness

This bulletin encourages states to to consider leveraging available Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) opportunities to improve access to mental health (MH) and substance use disorder (SUD) services for individuals experiencing homelessness.
Format
Other
Audience
States
Behavioral Health Providers
Communities
Policymakers and Payers
Source
Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS)
Year
Resource Type
PDF
File Size
397 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

Connected and Strong: Strategies for Accessible and Effective Crisis and Mental Health Services

This technical assistance brief reviews areas of critical need in mental health services across the United States. It discusses the behavioral health workforce, youth mental wellness, the justice system, social determinants of health, suicide, and drug-related overdose fatalities. It highlights five core principles that guide strategies to combat these problems.
Format
Report/Paper/Issue Brief
Audience
Behavioral Health Providers
Other Team Members
Communities
Source
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Year
Resource Type
PDF
File Size
924 KB

Crisis Systems Coordination and Collaboration: Leveraging Strengths and Opportunity of 988 and 911

This technical assistance brief will review many aspects of crisis system collaboration, incorporating stakeholder input gathered during this exciting transition from a default emergency medical and law enforcement response to a more intentional, varied continuum of behavioral health crisis responses.
Format
Report/Paper/Issue Brief
Audience
First Responders
Behavioral Health Providers
Other Team Members
Policymakers and Payers
States
Communities
Source
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Year
Resource Type
PDF
File Size
987 KB

Embracing Equity and Cultural Humility to Improve Care for Youth with Trauma

This resource provides information for youth-serving primary care and behavioral health providers to improve quality of care and patient outcomes and reduce clinician burnout
Format
Guide
Audience
Behavioral Health Providers
Schools
Communities
Other Team Members
Source
National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Year
Resource Type
PDF
File Size
473 KB

Engaging PWLEE in Overdose Data Collection, Interpretation and Dissemination

This tool highlights examples of successful People With Lived or Living Experience (PWLLE) engagement in data collection, interpretation and dissemination, as well as novel approaches to community-based participatory research, such as patient journey mapping and PWUD/researcher collectives. It also includes key considerations for gathering and disseminating data. The target audience for this tool includes the staff of epidemiology and surveillance departments.
Format
Report/Paper/Issue Brief
Audience
Graduate Education
Other Team Members
Source
National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Year
Resource Type
PDF
File Size
614 KB

Engaging PWLLE in Overdose Data Collection, Interpretation and Dissemination

This tool highlights examples of successful People With Lived and Living Experience (PWLLE) engagement in data collection, interpretation and dissemination, gathered through key informant interviews — including overdose fatality review committees, drug checking, patient surveys and overdose reversal reporting — as well as novel approaches to community-based participatory research.
Format
Report/Paper/Issue Brief
Audience
States
Communities
Other Team Members
Source
National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Year
Resource Type
PDF
File Size
614 KB

Ensuring the Inclusion of PWLLE in Health Departments’ Overdose Surveillance and Prevention Efforts

This resource presents information gleaned from an environmental scan and a series of key infomant interviews to identify ways in which health departments can meaningfully involve people with lived and/or living experience (PWLLE) in overdose surveillance and prevention.
Format
Report/Paper/Issue Brief
Audience
States
Communities
Source
National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Year
Resource Type
PDF
File Size
501 KB

Growing and Strengthening the Behavioral Health Crisis Response Workforce

This paper discusses employee- and organization-level strategies to combat barriers to employee recruitment, retention, and wellness among the crisis response and general behavioral health workforce.
Format
Report/Paper/Issue Brief
Audience
Behavioral Health Providers
States
Source
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Year
Resource Type
PDF
File Size
786 KB