This is report recognizing that community pharmacists are uniquely poised to engage in efforts to reduce opioid misuse and opioid related overdose. It provides guidance to pharmacist on screening for potential opioid misuse, dispensing medications for opioid use disorder, and providing access to naloxone.

This document from four of the longest-tenured and well-respected organizations in the addiction sphere outlines three major strategic priorities for addressing the opioid crisis with potential opioid settlement money. These include:

1) Enhancing public education to correct long-held misconceptions and to create informed demand for more effective policies and interventions

2) Implementing evidence-based, community-wide prevention and early intervention to reduce the incidence of opioid use disorder (OUD) and overdose

3) Modernizing OUD treatment by integrating it with mainstream healthcare and increase access to evidence-based addiction support and treatment services

This website was developed by the National Association of Counties and empowers local leaders to invest resources from opioid settlements into effective treatment, recovery, prevention, and other public health practices. 

This academic paper examines rural hospitals' implementation of opioid stewardship program (OSP) elements in Arizona and assesses differences in implementation in emergency department and acute inpatient departments. Some OSP elements were in place in nearly every Arizona critical access hospital, while others were present in only a quarter or a third of hospitals, suggesting that more attention is needed to define and standardize OSPs to prevent unnecessary opioid initiation while simultaneously treating opioid use disorder as necessary.

This is a report from Pew Charitable Trusts that outlines the necessity of Opioid Treatment Programs (OTPs) across the United States. The report discusses how these OTPs are currently impeded by current federal and state regulations and how this is also inhibiting access to opioid use disorder treatment. The report suggests specific recommendations to stakeholders that will increase and expand OTPs implementation.

This is a peer-reviewed paper in Nature providing an overview of opioid use disorder (OUD) and is written by a group comprised of many leading experts in the field. The paper discusses the epidemiology of OUD, especially as it relates to risk factors and burden. Next, the neuroscience and pathophysiology of OUD are discussed. The last half of the paper provides the evidence on strategies for prevention, early intervention, and treatment for OUD. 

The study conducted by the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine targeted students in their medicine clerkship and assessed their motivational interviewing skills, harm reduction knowledge, and use of de-stigmatizing language towards a panel of opioid use disorder patients. Their skills were assessed before and after a case-based activity curriculum and indicated that each tested skill improved after implementation of the module. 

This is an academic paper which provides an overview of the trends concerning opioid use disorder in women and its implications for treatment. Authors show that there is a gender-based gap in preventing rising death rates by opioid overdose in women as well as treatment of perinatal women with opioid use disorder, and call for more research to be done on gender and sex differences which should include treatment implementation studies to achieve wider access for women to effective prevention, intervention, and treatment. 

This is a toolkit from the Opioid Response Network that is designed to assist faith-based leaders in responding to the opioid crisis. It provides current information, resources, and action steps to support faith-based leaders in meeting the needs of their members and communities related to the opioid crisis and opioid use disorder. 

This is an issue brief from the Pew Charitable Trusts that discusses opioid use disorder (OUD) among incarcerated populations and provides best practices for OUD treatment in prisons and jails. Several case studies that have implemented medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) are highlighted.

This is an issue brief from the National Academy for State Health Policy that provides a case study on how Vermont extended its Hub and Spoke model to the prison system. How the program was implemented in state prisons is detailed along with barriers and keys to the program's success. 

This is a report from the United States Government Accountability Office that reviewed relevant laws, policies, and documents, as well as studies describing access barriers and the benefits and challenges of the distribution methods. A summary of the findings are presented and recommendations are made within this document.