Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Save Lives

Course overview

Course Description: This course is based upon material published in the National Academies Press and is available as an open-access article. The opioid crisis in the United States has come about because of excessive use of these drugs for both legal and illicit purposes and unprecedented levels of consequent opioid use disorder (OUD). More than 2 million people in the United States are estimated to have OUD, which is caused by pro- longed use of prescription opioids, heroin, or other illicit opioids. OUD is a life-threatening condition associated with a 20-fold greater risk of early death due to overdose, infectious diseases, trauma, and suicide. Mortality related to OUD continues to escalate as this public health crisis gains momentum across the country, with opioid overdoses killing more than 47,000 people in 2017 in the United States. Efforts to date have made no real headway in stemming this crisis, in large part because tools that already exist-like evidence-based medications-are not being deployed to maximum impact. To support the dissemination of accurate, patient-focused information about evidence-based treatment for OUD, the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration asked a committee convened by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to examine the evidence base for medications to treat OUD and to identify barriers that prevent people from accessing safe, effective, medication-based treatment (see Box S-1). The full Statement of Task to the committee is provided in Box S-3 at the end of this summary. This course on medication based treatment for opioid use disorder is designed for social workers, professional counselors, psychologists, nurses, and substance abuse counselors, who do clinical work. In addition, this course is appropriate for intermediate and advanced level practitioners who wish to develop their knowledge of medication based treatment for opioid use disorder. The course material includes a literature review of interventions and research. It may also be useful for licensed clinicians who require continuing clinical education courses for license renewal. The course is based on a journal article that includes research. It contains statistical analysis and data that some clinicians enjoy reading and others do not. A significant benefit of reading research-based articles for continuing education is they provide practitioners with the latest findings in their field. Authors: The National Academies Press Learning Objectives: This course will provide the practitioner with detailed information regarding medication based treatment for opioid use disorder. Specifically, a professional will: Identify characteristics of opioid use disorder. Describe medications used to treat opioid use disorder and their associated outcomes. Recognize barriers to the use of medications to treat opioid use disorder. Citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Save Lives. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25310.