Using National Vital Statistics System mortality data (2002-2004 and 2014-2016), this study examined associations of county-level demographic, socioeconomic, and labor market characteristics on overall drug mortality rates and specific classes of opioid mortality. 

This is a white paper from the National Governors Association that discusses the history of how states have used emergency powers to provide governors with new avenues to enhance capabilities, coordination, and collaboration across state and local agencies. Guidance is provided to state officials on how to maximize this tool. 

This is a toolkit for state Medicaid officials on using Medicaid to advance evidence-based treatment for substance use disorders including how states may monitor and evaluate their selected strategies. Other state strategies are highlighted. 

This is a report from the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) that explores how telehealth can be used to support behavioral health and substance use disorders, with a particular focus on implications for medications for opioid use disorders. The report will help the reader better understand telehealth implementation and use, financing and sustainability, and impact in the field.

This issue brief from the Office of Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) identifies barriers to implementing buprenorphine prescribing via telehealth and makes suggestions on how to overcome these barriers. An overview of reimbursement by payors and additional links to resources are also provided in this document. 

This is an academic paper that provides commentary on leveraging telehealth in rural areas to increase the capacity of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in an underserved area. Current evidence for telehealth-delivered MOUD, promising program models, and regulatory issues are discussed, with links to many resources and data. 

Brattleboro Retreat in Vermont is taking a number of steps to meet the challenge of providing addiction treatment services during the coronavirus pandemic, including limiting admissions to in-state residents, setting up a care facility for those who test positive for the virus, and implementing telehealth for in-person meetings and counseling sessions.

This is a report from the Government Accountability Office that identifies and compares overall prevalence and differences in urban and rural areas for: the number of veterans with substance use disorder (SUD), the expenditures for veterans receiving SUD services, and availability of specialty SUD services. Veterans with opioid use disoder (OUD) in rural areas were found to receive medication treatment less frequently compared with urban areas. 

This is an academic paper that describes the state's modified hub-and-spoke model to build organizational capacity for facilities to use buprenorphine to treat patients with opioid use disorder and to provide ongoing case consultation. Preliminary results after implementation are provided, including barriers. 

This is a perspective academic paper by medical providers on the intersection of the opioid crisis and the coronavirus pandemic, with a focus on buprenorphine prescribing and sustainability of opioid research. 

This is a report from the Chicago Urban League that focuses on areas where blacks are been disproportionately affected by the opioid crisis, with a special emphasis on Chicago. A public health response, and how this is different than the policy response of the War on Drugs, is discussed as well as racial equity and justice. Blacks should not be excluded from narratives about the opioid crisis and should be included in the development and implementation of national and local public health initiatives. 

This is a report from SAMHSA that looks at the role of language in perpetuating stigma for substance use disorders, followed by tips for assessing when and how stigmatizing language is being used and steps for ensuring that the language we use and messages we deliver are positive, productive, and inclusive.