The U.S. is in the throes of an unrelenting opioid epidemic and the individuals suffering from Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) are meeting a tepid response from policy-makers and practitioners. We are witnessing overdose deaths from opioids, or opioids in combination with other substances, at rates that are unprecedented. This change in morbidity and mortality is occurring at a time when psychosocial and pharmacological therapies are being developed at an amazing pace and systems of care are responding with expansion and employing disruptive technologies to overcome barriers of remote access and an inadequate number of people in the workforce to respond to the growing need. Additionally, polices to limit the individuals who can employ medication therapy are changing, but not at a pace equal to the expansion of the epidemic.

Andrea G. Barthwell, MD, DFASAM, former Deputy Director of Demand Reduction, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, is uniquely placed to review the environment of care and recommend strategies to expand access that can be employed by policy makers, communities, practitioners, and individuals who are trying to save lives and provide access to individualized care. Her presentation will review our current understanding of neuroscience underlying substance use disorders (SUD) as understood through the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) definition of SUD; outline current treatment approaches to SUD based upon the neuroscience of addiction; list the existing responses to SUD including psycho-social therapies, medication therapies, and combination therapies; and explore the basis of selection bias in developing and promoting therapeutic response to SUD from a review of societal and cultural considerations versus individual considerations.

UPON COMPLETION OF THIS COURSE, PARTICIPANTS WILL BE ABLE TO:
- Describe scientific understanding of substance use disorders (SUD), particularly Opioid Use Disorders (OUD).
- Apply understanding of SUD to predicting therapeutic approaches, including medications, to treat SUD, and OUD.
- Evaluate the impact of existing responses on outcomes in substance use disorders, particularly OUD.