Medications for addiction treatment: Providing best practice care in a primary care clinic
This best practices toolkit, published by the Camden Coalition’s National Center for Complex Health and Social Needs and co-authored by Shelly Virva (Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers) and Grace “Katie” Bell (Telewell Indian Health MAT Project), is intended for for program administrators and clinical care teams who want to establish effective medications for addiction treatment (MAT) programs for opioid use disorder in a primary care setting.
Medications for opioid use disorder are evidence-based and, in combination with evidence-based behavioral health interventions, are best practice. But successful MAT programs need to do more than just prescribe and dispense medication — they must also be designed to address the complex health and social needs of the patients seeking care.
The resources and data contained in the toolkit can be modified to the specific needs and dynamics of each individual clinic, and are designed to help clinicians understand the whole-person needs of their patients, challenge stigma within the walls of care, blend the best of dueling recovery ideologies, utilize evidence-based best practices, and incorporate program data for sustainability.