The recently released Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP 63) from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is clear in the need to provide people suffering from opioid use disorder (OUD) with evidence-based treatment. Discussing medications that can treat OUD with patients who have this disorder is the clinical standard of care͟. Medication is an effective treatment for OUD, and people with OUD should be referred for an assessment for pharmacotherapy unless they decline͟.

It is inappropriate to refuse evidence-based treatment with medications for a patient with OUD, when that may be the most clinically appropriate course of treatment͟. Still, many patients with OUD do not have access to appropriate medication therapy.

UPON COMPLETION OF THIS COURSE, PARTICIPANTS WILL BE ABLE TO:
- Discuss the role of medications in the abstinence-based treatment of OUD.
- Describe some current models for delivering medication treatment through the continuum of care.
- Identify the elements of quality medication management programs with buprenorphine and naltrexone.