David Loveland, PhD
Strategies to effectively engage and retain individuals with an opioid use disorder (OUD) will be reviewed in this workshop. Research from Pennsylvania as well as from other states will be reviewed, with a focus on engaging individuals from emergency departments (EDs) and in other settings after an opioid-related event, such as an overdose. Participants will learn how rapid access to medication assisted treatment (MAT), in particular, methadone and buprenorphine, can improve both engagement and retention in addiction treatment. Treatment data from Pennsylvania will also be used to identify effective and ineffective interventions for retaining individuals with an OUD over time.
Learning Objectives:
- Discuss how individuals with an OUD are difficult to engage due to powerful urges to continue using opioids and mental fatigue following a non-fatal overdose.
- Report about the limitations of the abstinence-based system and the need to develop clinical pathways for people with an OUD that integrates both psychosocial interventions with MAT.
- Illustrate how to engage individuals in an ED using a combination of rapid MAT, combined with access to a continuum of care upon discharge.
- Appraise the benefits of combining MAT and traditional addiction treatment services, including increased survival rates and retention in treatment over time.
Target Audience: Clinical personnel, counselors, psychiatrists, psychologists.
Intermediate level. CE credits offered = 1.5 contact hours