Reports on the implementation, activities, and outcomes of state opioid response (SOR) grantees using data collected in fiscal years 2020, 2021, and 2022. Includes accomplishments for all the states and territories and rural mentions throughout.

Shares a policy, announced August 8, 2018, guiding the authorization of alternative, non-opioid pain management treatments and treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) for federal workers receiving workers' compensation. Aims to reduce barriers to non-opioid pain treatment, such as alternative pain medication, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), physical therapy, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), and other treatment without medication, as well as in-patient pain management programs. Increases patient access to OUD treatments, including medication-assisted treatment (MAT), opioid treatment programs, in-patient, out-patient, and emergency services.

Identifies and describes the following 7 drug policy priorities for the first year of the Biden-Harris Administration: expanding access to evidence-based treatment; advancing racial equity issues in drug policy; enhancing evidenced-based harm reduction efforts; supporting evidence-based prevention efforts to reduce youth substance use; reducing the supply of illicit substances; advancing recovery-ready workplaces and increasing the addiction workforce; and expanding access to recovery support services. Outlines next steps for the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to coordinate with other federal agencies to address drug policy priorities.

Provides information and resources for healthcare and social service organization leaders and providers to improve care coordination and access to services for women with opioid use disorder (OUD) in programs supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), such as health centers, Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), Ryan White HIV/AIDS clinics, and home visiting programs, as well as in other care settings. Focuses on shifting the culture around addiction and treatment, engaging women with OUD in care, and creating and maintaining partnerships that support care coordination for women with OUD. Offers self-assessment tools and metrics to help users monitor and evaluate care coordination in their organizations.

Serves as the federal agency leading the national effort to promote community-based substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and recovery services for individuals and families. Works to improve and strengthen SUD treatment organizations and systems to help build capacity and meet the demand for services nationwide. Supports states and community-based programs in adopting and adapting evidence-based and best practices to reduce barriers and improve access to high quality treatment and recovery services. Offers free treatment referral to connect people dealing with issues related to substance use to programs and services available in their community.

Offers states information and advice regarding strategies to combat the opioid crisis using technology, as well as potential funding opportunities for these efforts. Discusses implementing prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) to track and facilitate the safe prescription of opioid medications and increasing data-driven approaches, interoperability, and telehealth services to improve care coordination among healthcare professionals.

Describes treatment and prevention strategies aimed at increasing healthcare quality, availability, and outcomes for Medicaid recipients with opioid use disorder (OUD) and other substance use disorder (SUD). Discusses long-term objectives focused on enhancing states' ability to track and implement evidence-based services to help beneficiaries with OUD and SUD.

Offers a dataset with information on Medicare-enrolled Opioid Treatment Program (OTP) providers. Contains the name, National Provider Identifier (NPI), address, phone number, and the effective enrollment date for each provider. Includes resources for understanding and using the data.

Describes the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) activities to address the opioid epidemic related to prevention, treatment, and data. Highlights program successes, innovative approaches, and future goals of CMS efforts to address the opioid crisis.

Provides information to first responder agencies, communities, and other stakeholders to support practices and approaches for first responders to connect people to substance use treatment and other support services. Offers evidence-based strategies, public health approaches, resources, and program models, including best practices for responding to opioid overdoses. Considers potential challenges, such as those faced in rural areas, and other factors when implementing initiatives to support people who use drugs.

Provides guidance and resources to help individuals and communities build and strengthen community coalitions with the ultimate goal of decreasing opioid overdose deaths. Includes insights from rural communities and rural considerations.

Offers evidence-based opioid overdose prevention practices for community leaders, local and regional organizers, nonprofit groups, law enforcement, public health and other members of the public. Provides summaries of effective strategies to prevent opioid overdose and the context in which they are most effective. Discusses targeted naloxone distribution, including Good Samaritan laws, syringe services programs, criminal justice settings, and medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and initiating MAT in emergency departments. Summarizes the major research on each practice and offers examples of organizations that have successfully used the strategies to reduce the risk of overdose.

Infographic highlighting areas where resources and programs from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDA RD) have worked to address prevention, treatment, and recovery from opioid use, as well as programs to help build upstream resilience and future prosperity in rural communities.

Provides information, resources, and eligibility criteria to obtain free training to provide medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) for eligible clinicians working to address the opioid epidemic.

Collaborates with tribal stakeholders across the U.S. to address issues related to the treatment of chronic pain and the use of heroin and prescription opioids among tribal populations. Works to promote appropriate and effective pain management, reduce opioid overdose deaths, and improve access to culturally appropriate substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery services for American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Workgroup focus areas include prescriber support, treatment and recovery, harm reduction, program effectiveness metrics, technical assistance, and communications.

Interview with Precia Stuby, Executive Director of the Hancock County Board of Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services in Ohio. Discusses how embedding a recovery-oriented system of care (ROSC) model in local health agencies may be employed as a strategy to advance and sustain recovery communities during periods of change and disruption, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Provides access to a 6-part national online discussion series and resource sharing opportunity focused on the social determinants of health (SDOH), COVID-19, and their impact on substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery workforces recorded in 2020. Aims to identify emerging best practices and resources to address health disparities related to substance use in underserved communities and/or communities of color, including Black, Latinx, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander populations. Includes a recording of each session along with presentation slides, and a session report presenting notes, core themes, strategies, and resources discussed in the related session.

Describes a benefit that covers opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment services under Medicare Part B medical insurance. Enables the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to make bundled payments to certified opioid treatment programs (OTPs) for OUD treatment services for an episode of care provided to Medicare Part B beneficiaries. Covers the following services under the benefit: opioid agonist and antagonist medication-assisted treatment (MAT) medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), naloxone and overdose education, substance use counseling, individual and group therapy, toxicology testing, intake activities, and periodic assessments.

Provides information on methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone and how they are used to provide medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder (OUD). Covers the signs of an overdose and answers questions about each medication.

Presentation on opioid use disorder (OUD) management during the COVID-19 pandemic. Discusses challenges, best practices, and alternative methods of providing OUD and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment while adhering to COVID-19 restrictions, including safety strategies for patients, providers, and communities.

Toolkit sharing field guidance, resources, and presentations to support clinical decisions about starting, continuing, or tapering opioid therapy, and other challenges related to safe opioid prescribing. Includes patient and provider education, clinical tools, and other resources.

Offers comprehensive information and resources on the use of prescription opioids, managing chronic pain, and opioid use disorder (OUD) for patients and providers, specifically for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities and Indian Health Service (IHS) providers. Includes online tools, technical assistance resources, guides, and training for patients and providers on topics such as opioid crisis data, opioid prevention, proper pain management, opioid prescribing/stewardship, culturally appropriate practices, maternal health, harm reduction, naloxone use, child health and wellness, medication-assisted treatment (MAT), tele-MAT, trauma-informed care, best practices, supportive services, wellness courts, and training opportunities. Resource is an initiative of the IHS Alcohol and Substance Abuse Branch (ASAB).

Provides guidance and resources to help communities, healthcare providers, and volunteers providing opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment and harm reduction and recovery services address opioid use in their communities. Include rural mentions throughout.

Shares programs from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDA RD) to address specific community needs related to substance use disorder (SUD) and opioid misuse prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts. Provides brief program summaries with information on program eligibility, as well as how the program may be used to confront issues of substance and opioid misuse in rural communities.

Provides an overview of the challenges facing communities seeking to address opioid misuse and substance use disorders in rural areas. Offers information and guidance from a wide range of experts and stakeholders to help rural leaders develop effective prevention, treatment, and recovery strategies to mitigate the impacts of substance use on rural populations. Highlights promising practices, lessons learned, and key resources to support community-led efforts to prevent and reduce substance use and build healthy communities.

Lists policy briefs, working papers, journal articles, and other publications on substance use and treatment in rural areas published by federally-funded Rural Health Research Centers. Includes links to upcoming and archived webinars on the topic and other related research projects.

Summarizes research describing the prevalence of opioid use in rural communities. Includes statistics on the perceived need and use of treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD).

Highlights evidence-based and promising models and related resources to develop, implement, evaluate, and build sustainable substance use disorder (SUD) prevention and treatment programs in rural communities. Identifies barriers to SUD and treatment in rural areas.

Provides an overview of the opioid crisis in rural America and includes information and resources on initiatives and funding opportunities to address the crisis. Covers successful rural model program examples, events, and other tools for prevention, harm reduction, and treatment.

Provides an overview of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) efforts to address the challenges incarcerated and justice system-involved individuals face when attempting to seek treatment for and recover from mental illness and substance use disorder (SUD). Seeks to increase access to behavioral health services, minimize costs, and other consequences related to the unnecessary and repetitive incarceration of people with behavioral health issues. Discusses strategies to identify individuals with mental illness and SUD, implement diversion programs, enhancing reentry services, evidence-based practices, screening and assessments, and more.

Provides access to data, reports, and other information from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality (CBHSQ) on various aspects of behavioral health, including substance use and mental health treatment services. Includes data on household substance use and mental health; treatment, admissions, and discharges; mental health facilities; substance use facilities; emergency departments; client-level mental health information; and uniform reporting system statistics.

Provides communities, healthcare professionals, policymakers, and others with a searchable resource center including reports, guides, toolkits, and other resources to implement evidence-based practices for mental illness and substance use disorder (SUD). Focuses on opioid use disorder (OUD) and other SUD prevention, treatment, and recovery options.

Provides information to support partnerships between faith-based and community organizations and federal programs to offer effective programs and activities for substance use prevention, mental health services, and addiction treatment. Offers resources for training, technical assistance, publications, and existing faith-based coalitions and collaborations focused on decreasing violence, combating substance use, improving behavioral health, reducing homelessness, and providing crisis counseling to those in need.

Offers a collection of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) programs and resources designed to prevent and end homelessness among men, women, youth, and families with mental illness or substance use disorder (SUD). Includes grant programs and services as well as publications, videos, and webinars on behavioral health treatment, employment assistance, housing/shelter programs, case management, trauma, as well as links to help individuals find immediate help and treatment.

Provides an overview of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and medications for alcohol use disorder (AUD), as well as information on opioid treatment programs (OTPs). Describes current federal regulations and requirements for practitioners to prescribe MOUD. Includes information and training resources for healthcare providers, researchers, and patients.

Presents the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) 4-year strategic plan detailing the agency's guiding principles, priorities, goals, and objectives to address behavioral health needs in the U.S. Focuses on 5 key areas: preventing substance use and overdose; access to suicide prevention and mental health services; promoting resilience and emotional health for children, youth, and families; integrating behavioral and physical healthcare; and strengthening behavioral health workforce. Emphasizes behavioral health equity for underserved and/or historically marginalized populations, including rural and tribal communities.

Provides an overview of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) efforts to increase the supply of trained, culturally aware behavioral health professionals, including psychiatrists, therapists, addiction counselors, homeless outreach specialists, recovery coaches, and other professionals in fields related to prevention, healthcare, and social services. Includes links to programs and resources to help address workforce shortages and provide culturally competent care to individuals with mental illness and substance use disorder (SUD).

Provides an overview of treatment options for veterans experiencing substance use issues. Includes information on different therapies, medications to reduce opioid and other substance use, intensive outpatient treatment, residential care, continuing care and relapse prevention, self-help groups, and more.

Details a school-centered pilot project that examined implementing strategies to prevent youth substance use and risky sexual behaviors in high-risk rural communities in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. Highlights efforts to address related issues of HIV, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), teen pregnancy, and high-risk substance use through education, primary prevention, and early detection screening. Program activities included implementing new health curricula, partnering with health departments and community drug-free coalitions, and developing and distributing informational products and video campaigns.

Serves as a planning resource for schools and stakeholders interested in implementing the Teens Linked to Care (TLC) program, an integrated prevention strategy to address both substance use and risky sexual behavior in youth living in rural communities. Outlines the 4 phases of the TLC program, and shares tools and other resources to help schools support sexual health and substance use education and policies.

Provides access to education materials developed by the VA Pharmacy Benefits Management Services (PBM) Academic Detailing Services (ADS) sharing evidence-based treatments to help providers improve the health of veterans. Offers provider and patient education tools and outreach resources to encourage evidence-based decision making for a variety of medical conditions and diseases, including opioid use disorder (OUD) and substance use disorder (SUD), pain, suicide, dementia, depression, HIV, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and more.

Describes the enterprise-wide initiatives currently supported by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Office of Rural Health. Shares the work of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) national programs to provide healthcare services in VA hospitals and health systems to veterans residing in rural areas across the nation. Outlines programs to address primary care, specialty care, mental health, care coordination, workforce training and education, transportation, and more. Includes virtual training for providers on substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and recovery, as well as a pharmacy-based program to increase access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for rural veterans with opioid use disorder.

Provides an overview of alcohol and drug misuse, screening, treatment options, and programs and services for veterans. Covers evidence-based psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for substance use disorder (SUD), medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder (OUD) and SUD, opioid overdose, stimulant use disorders, motivational interviewing and enhancement therapy, and more. Includes additional resources to help veterans and family members access SUD treatment and recovery support services.

Offers evidence-based information, recommendations, guides, and tools for U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) healthcare providers and patients to assist in the decision making process to improve the treatment and outcomes for patients with substance use disorder (SUD), including opioid use disorder (OUD), methamphetamine use, and co-occurring mental health conditions. Describes best practices to help patients avoid preventable complications, reduce substance use, and improve their overall health and wellness.