Fact Sheets

July 15, 2020 | Fact Sheets, Public Health, Public Safety, Recovery, Substance Misuse

With hard to reach populations, one of the most effective engagement strategies is through community outreach. By meeting individuals where they are, community outreach programs can gain their trust and that of the community and provide people with health care, social services, and harm reduction assistance. One popular method of community outreach is through mobile outreach vehicles (MOVs) which usually consist of large vans, trailers, or campers that are customized to provide health care and harm reduction services in targeted communities. A large benefit over brick and mortar clinics is the fact that MOVs are ambulatory and can travel to those who most need services. Additionally, one MOV can service multiple neighborhoods and can travel to targeted areas in the community as drug use patterns emerge. This fact sheet provides information about mobile outreach vans and the services that they provide to at-risk communities....

May 19, 2020 | Controlled Substances, Fact Sheets, Law Enforcement, Opioids, Public Safety, Substance Misuse

High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) is a federal program administered by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Executive Office of the President, that provides resources to federal, state, local, and tribal agencies to coordinate activities addressing drug trafficking in more than 30 areas of the country. The Washington / Baltimore HIDTA developed ODMAP in the fall of 2016 and launched it as a pilot program in West Virginia and Maryland in January 2017. ODMAP is a mapping application tied to a database containing overdose incident information. W/B HIDTA provides no cost access to ODMAP to federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, other licensed first responders, criminal justice personnel, emergency room and hospital personnel, and other public health entities serving the interests of public safety and public health. The primary purposes of ODMAP include: (1) to provide near real-time surveillance of known or suspected overdose incidents across the United States and its territories; and (2) to support public safety and public health efforts to collaborate and mobilize immediate responses to a sudden increase or spike in overdose incidents. This fact sheet provides basic information about ODMAP. ...

February 26, 2020 | Controlled Substances, Fact Sheets, Public Health, Recovery, Substance Misuse, Treatments

Incorporating a trauma-informed approach to the treatment of substance use disorder (SUD) results in treating patients with more respect instead of blaming or shaming then for using. SUD treatment programs that use a trauma-informed approach and focus on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), allow patients to gain a better understanding of the relationship between ACEs and SUD....

February 26, 2020 | Controlled Substances, Fact Sheets, Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), Recovery, Substance Misuse

Incarcerated individuals have been fighting back against state prison policies that ban medication for addiction for addiction treatment (MAT) in correctional facilities by arguing in court cases that these policies violate the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution. As courts rule in favor of the incarcerated, states will need to reconsider their policies on MAT in correctional settings to avoid future lawsuits. ...

January 22, 2020 | Controlled Substances, Criminal Justice, Fact Sheets, Opioids, Substance Misuse

Medical legal partnerships (MLPs) integrate lawyers into the health care setting to assist physicians, case managers, and social workers in addressing the factors that influence a patient’s social determinates of health and reducing the treatment disparity within communities. A total of 333 health entities, including hospitals and health systems, children’s hospitals, Health Resources and Services Administration -funded health centers, and Veterans Affairs medical centers, have developed MLPs in 46 states.  When legal services are combined with medical care to address the social needs of patients, studies show that patients: (1) are admitted to the hospital less frequently; (2) are more likely to take their medications as prescribed; (3) report lower levels of stress and experience improvements in mental health; and (4) spend less money on health care services because they are going to the hospital less and investing more in preventative care. Additionally, with MLPs, clinical services are more frequently reimbursed by public or private payers due to MLPs’ assistance with health insurance access....