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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 11 - 20 of 102

Integrating Harm Reduction into Health Care Facilities Serving Medicaid Members

This webinar, hosted by the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS), explored how providers and administrators in health care settings serving Medicaid members can integrate harm reduction strategies into their practices, supported by creative and sustainable financing mechanisms. It featured a panel discussion with harm reduction leaders experienced at the provider, state, and national levels.
Format
Webinar/Video
Audience
Medical Providers
Behavioral Health Providers
Other Team Members
Source
Center for Health Care Strategies
Year
Resource Type
Web Page

Opioid Overdose Prevention Toolkit (PDF - 885 KB KB)

Describes opioid overdose reversal medications in some detail, including a comparison of available formulations (Table 1, page 6), ending with information directed at a variety of audiences.

Format
Toolkit
Audience
Behavioral Health Providers
Communities
Medical Providers
Policymakers and Payers
Source
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Year
Resource Type
PDF

Opioid Overdose Reversal Medications (OORM)

This web page includes information on lifesaving medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reverse an opioid overdose.

Format
Web Page
Audience
Communities
Other Team Members
Source
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Year
Resource Type
PDF

Quick Guide to Over-the-Counter Naloxone (PDF - 519 KB KB)

This guide highlights naloxone, a lifesaving medication that reverses an opioid overdose. It includes information on when to carry naloxone, how to recognize an overdose, and when and how to use naloxone.
Format
Fact Sheet/Brochure
Audience
Communities
Families
Patients
Other Team Members
First Responders
Source
National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Year
Resource Type
PDF

The state of opioid overdose and response in the U.S. 2025 (PDF - 5.5 MB KB)

This report details state-level data and recommendations for action across the continuum of services and supports for opioid use, including prevention, treatment, and recovery.
Format
Report/Paper/Issue Brief
Audience
States
Policymakers and Payers
Source
Mental Health America (MHA)
Year
Resource Type
PDF

Drug Overdose Death Rates

This web page highlights statistics on deaths involving drugs commonly associated with fatal overdose from 1999-2022 collected by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Format
Web Page
Audience
Behavioral Health Providers
Communities
Policymakers and Payers
States
Source
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Year
Resource Type
Web Page

Medicaid Coverage of Medications to Reverse Opioid Overdose and Treat Alcohol and Opioid Use Disorders (PDF - 2.8 MB KB)

This report provides an update on the present state of coverage, availability of, and access to, medications for treating ongoing alcohol use disorder and opioid use disorder, and reversing an opioid overdose within state Medicaid plans.
Format
Report/Paper/Issue Brief
Audience
Policymakers and Payers
States
Medical Providers
Behavioral Health Providers
Other Team Members
Source
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Year
Resource Type
PDF