Course Description: This plenary session will summarize three strategic initiatives for the healthcare industry that must be included in the fight for opioid relief. The initiatives include making Medication-Assisted Treatment (‘MAT’) funding inclusive of mandatory behavioral health counseling, providing education and resources to insure workplace wellness programs include substance use disorders, and the development of guidelines for evidence-based psychosocial treatment of opioid use disorders as well as training for behavioral health professionals. In support of these initiatives, the presentation will examine the most recent data relating to the United States opioid crisis and how the crisis challenges present- day healthcare services, the responses to the opioid crisis to date, and hypothesize about what responses are expected in the future. There is no known potential conflict of interest and/or commercial support for this program.

Upon completing this course, attendees will be able to:

  • List three ways that the current national response to the opioid crisis is deficient in addressing the issue
  • Describe the impact of developing evidence-based psychosocial treatment standards for opioid use disorders