A study in the National Journal of Drug Policy finds that approximately 86.6% of individuals with OUD nationwide who may benefit from MOUD treatment do not receive it. MOUD treatment services have increased across states over the past decade, but most regions still experience wide gaps between OUD prevalence and access to MOUD treatment. Among key health professional groups such as primary care physicians, there are high levels of stigma toward people with opioid use disorder (OUD), according to research from Alene Kennedy-Hendricks, assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her work suggests that stigma manifests in both the lack of OUD and MOUD in medical school curricula and the development of often punitive policies targeting people with OUD. Kennedy-Hendricks pointed out that “among clinicians, higher levels of stigma are associated with lower levels of interest in working with patients with opioid use disorder.” Comagine Health conducted a six-state monthly educational webinar series featuring faculty presenter Mandy Sladky, MSN, RN, CARN, to assist primary care sites in the development or expansion of MOUD treatment services in primary care settings.
This 2023 CMS Quality Conference poster details our approach, curriculum and results.