Expanding Access to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in the Primary Care Setting

This 4-part educational series presented by the Boston University School of Medicine provides clinicians with key updates and strategies to initiate practice changes and improvements in initiating and managing long-term treatment for patients with opioid use disorder (OUD).

Please register for these modules using the links below:

Module 1: Medications for Treating OUD

Part 1 of a 4-part series, this module will present a clinical case and review the epidemiology, trends and neurobiology of opioid use disorder. Faculty will then discuss how to make the diagnosis of opioid use disorder, and how to treat opioid use disorder using currently approved medications. Register here for Module 1.

Module 2: Challenging Cases

Part 2 of a 4-part series, this module will provide challenging cases of patients with opioid use disorder being treated in a primary care setting. The cases will be discussed among an interprofessional team of clinicians that include an internal medicine physician, a nurse practitioner, and licensed clinical social worker. We will also discuss strategies and best practices for helping patients engage in the shared decision-making of their treatment plan. Register here for Module 2.

Module 3: Provider and Patient Perspectives

Part 3 of a 4-part series, this module will focus on clinicians who may be apprehensive or ambivalent about offering opioid use disorder treatment in their practice. You'll hear the perspectives of a primary care physician who treats patients with opioid use disorder, and a patient with opioid use disorder who has been successfully treated in a primary care setting. Register here for Module 3.

Module 4: Incorporating Long-Acting MOUD

Part 4 of a 4-part series, this module is for providers who want to offer extended-release medications for opioid use disorder in their practice. A nurse practitioner and pharmacist will discuss overcoming the clinical challenges of offering injectable naltrexone and injectable buprenorphine and buprenorphine implants to patients with opioid use disorder. We will address some of the common operational issues that are involved in offering this treatment, and suggest some best practices that you can employ in your primary care office. Register here for Module 4.