This is a collection of reports from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing that provides resources to support the adoption and implementation of deflection and pre-arrest programs (DPAP) to better support people at risk of opioid overdose. Successful initiatives across the United States are highlighted. There is a focus on implementing a harm reduction approach, integrating peer services, and  DPAP in rural communities. 

This is an issue brief, made possible by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, that highlights key features of approved health home models in Maryland, Rhode Island, and Vermont that are tailored to individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD).

The document identifies important considerations in developing OUD-focused health homes, including: (1) leveraging opioid treatment program requirements; (2) promoting collaboration across multiple state agencies; (3) supporting providers in transforming into health homes; and (4) encouraging information sharing.

This is an academic paper that presents a deterministic understanding of the choice model of addiction that has the potential to mitigate blame for addictive behavior, thereby reducing stigma.  

This is an academic paper that provides an overview of the current state of joint criminal justice and healthcare interventions to address the opioid crisis that have been evaluated in the peer-reviewed literature. Few programs were found although they were found to be effective, highlighting the need for evaluating existing collaborative programs and the creation of new ones. 

This is an academic paper that evaluates an intervention to deliver buprenorphine treatment in harm reduction organizations in New York City to those that are not seeking treatment. Although the study design was not rigorous, findings include increased organizational education on buprenorphine but no increase in initiation of buprenorphine, suggesting that more active outreach is necessary.  

This academic paper addresses the fact that many currently employed interventions (prescriber guidelines, prescription monitoring programs, naloxone rescue) address the prevention of OUD or downstream complications but not treatment of the underlying disorder itself.

An OUD Cascade of Care framework could help structure local and national efforts to combat the opioid crisis by identifying key targets, interventions, and quality indicators across populations and settings to achieve these ends. Improved data collection and reporting methodology will be imperative.

This database from the CDC allows users to examine prevalence of and trends in nonfatal overdoses for 47 states and the District of Columbia beginning in 2018. 

This resource is an Interactive Mapping Tool which gives an overview of nonfatal drug overdoses in the United States organized by state. This dashboard represents the most up-to-date data in terms of emergency department visit trends and is updated monthly. 

This is a report from the Drug Policy Alliance that gives a history and overview of decriminalization of drug use in Portugal, its effects on treatment and harm reduction, and the impact on health outcomes and the criminal justice system. 

This issue brief describes the increasing incidence of deaths in local jails, often by suicide in the days immediately after arrest, and analyzes the underlying causes such as untreated substance use and mental health disorders. It recommends strategies to reduce these deaths, including better screening for suicide risk and mental health problems, pre-jail diversion into appropriate treatment, and greater access to treatment while incarcerated.

This academic paper conducted a review of existing literature describing new services and service modifications implemented by treatment and harm reduction programs serving people who use opioids, and also discusses implications for policy and practice. The authors set their literature review in the specific time frame of the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to analyze how the pandemic impacted these programs. 

This is a report which describes how to develop a more coordinated and comprehensive health education system in regards to opioid use disorder. The report provides information on the current health professional education environment and also a survey of its regulations. The literature review specifically focuses on the education of medical professionals involved in pain management and the substance use disorder workforce.