Speaker(s):
Ned Presnall, MSW, LCSW and Robert Riley II, MAADC II
Presentation: For at least a decade, we have been training front-line substance abuse counselors in the science of addiction and Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT). Many counselors have come to understand that effective treatment for opioid dependence starts with medication. Yet, lack of access to maintenance pharmacotherapy remains a major contributor to our rising overdose rate. This presentation will look at the system-level barriers to treatment access and propose effective and cost-effective models of treatment that can be used to improve access to treatment on a large scale. The presenter will argue that even without additional financial resources to fight OUD we could be using the resources we already have to begin reversing the overdose epidemic.
Objectives:
- Explain which approaches to OUD are best supported by research.
- Review cost-effective and scalable models of OUD treatment with potential to reverse the opioid epidemic, e.g. models that can be implemented in primary care.
- Describe the barriers to implementing these models and initial strategies to overcome them.