A practical and evidence-based podcast on how to think about, diagnose, and treat substance use disorders in the Emergency Department and Acute Care

This toolkit is intended to provide foundational information, language, and an introduction to tools and assessments for agencies and providers, both those who provide direct services and funders.

This issue brief lays out the major implications of this new guidance, along with key issues that remain, and is designed for clinical professionals and others who operate street medicine programs or are interested in creating new programs.

This measurement guide draws from on-the-ground work with an array of local overdose prevention coalitions affiliated with the Center for Health Leadership and Practice’s overdose prevention networks and is organized around the sequence in which coalitions need to work with data.

Follow up regularly with patients to determine whether opioids are meeting treatment goals and whether opioids can be reduced to lower dosage or discontinued. Use this guide to gain insight on the best way to taper patients with chronic pain.

The Monterey County Prescribe Safe Initiative is an organization that wants to help physicians with safe prescribing. Read through some of the solutions that have been working in Monterey County.

Patients with pain should receive treatment that provides the greatest benefit. Opioids are not the first-line therapy for chronic pain outside of active cancer treatment, palliative care, and end-of-life care. Evidence suggests that nonopioid treatments, including nonopioid medications and nonpharmacological therapies, can provide relief to those suffering from chronic pain, and are safer. Read through this fact sheet to get a better understanding of how to effectively approach non-opioid solutions to chronic pain.

Health plans can influence the behavior of providers and patients, prevent overprescribing, ensure appropriate treatment is available — and save lives. Use this four part guide to change the way in which the epidemic is impacting your community.

MAT has been proven to save lives, improve quality of life, and lower medical costs, but remains inaccessible to almost 90% of the people it could help. This paper outlines concrete strategies that public and private plans can implement in their efforts to ensure that their members have access to MAT when and where they need it.

Safe Med LA, the opioid coalition for LA county created a 10-page recommendation on safe prescribing, broken down into six main focus areas: (1) Safe Opioid Prescribing; (2) Avoid Escalating Opioid Doses; (3) Avoid Dangerous Medication Combinations ; (4) Safe Tapering Practices; (5) Concurrent Drug and Alcohol Use; (6) Opioid Use Disorder and Medications for Addiction Treatment. Use this recommendation in conjunction with the Safe Opioid Prescribing Recommendations Template to customize the guidelines for your own communities and prescribers.

As the epidemic evolves, clinicians are prescribing fewer opioids. However, the demand for synthetic opioids including heroin and fentanyl are on the rise. What can we do? This infographic will go through six elements of lowering the demand of opioids, along with a case example.

This guideline provides recommendations for primary care clinicians who are prescribing opioids for chronic pain outside of active cancer treatment, palliative care, and end-of-life care.

An inclusive resource sheet with various tools for prescribers.

Opioids can be safe when carefully prescribed and monitored by a clinician, but they are not generally effective in treating long-term chronic pain and they have the potential to become addictive and misused. Prescribing guidelines are an important mechanism to align practices with evidence and safety. Use this fact sheet to learn more about safe prescribing.

This document is to assist community leaders, local and regional organizers, non-profit groups, law enforcement, public health, and members of the public in understanding and navigating effective strategies to prevent opioid overdose in their communities.

Prevention planners are pressed to put in place solutions to urgent substance misuse problems facing their communities. But research and experience have shown that prevention must begin with an understanding of these complex behavioral health problems within their complex environmental contexts; only then can communities establish and implement effective plans to address substance misuse. Read this document to understand the framework that SAMHSA has created.

Successful coalitions are prepared to engage the public, recruit allies for the cause, and get the message out to as many people as possible. A coalition fact sheet will help your coalition tell your story including your goals, strategies, and accomplishments. This template provides an outline with examples and prompts for developing a fact sheet that can be used when creating a coalition website, presentation, or other outreach materials.

One of the biggest challenges for community leaders is how to communicate with impact. Why does this matter? Applying strategy to your communication efforts will directly impact your coalition’s ability to recruit new partners, get and maintain funding, and influence public opinion.

This worksheet will help you outline why your coalition is choosing to continue an existing effort or beginning a new project. Make a strong case and approach partners with confidence for why you should continue to develop your coalition. Think about the benefits that your coalition provides to your community, who are you reaching, what are you accomplishing, and how are you promoting healthier lives.

Connections are powerful. They're assets - like money in the bank or social capital --to help us meet our goals of preventing death and disability from opioids. Mapping these assets and creating opportunities for them to contribute to your cause will expand engagement and impact. Use this worksheet to determine who your connections are, who you would like to connect with, and what connections might be missing. Make an action plan to connect with folks that could increase your social capital.