Opioid addiction, abuse, and overdose have all grown to epidemic proportions in the United States as well as worldwide in recent years—such information is no longer up for debate. With an estimated 400,000 persons using illicit opiates each month, and another 4 million reporting use of prescription pain relievers for nonmedical purposes, in the United States alone, the debate now surrounds how best to treat those individuals suffering from opioid use disorder (OUD). In the past few years, there has been growing evidence for the efficacy of medication assisted therapy (MAT) for the treatment of OUD. However, there are still many challenges. Questions arise such as: What sort of training does a prescriber need to undertake in order to be able to prescribe medications for the treatment of OUD and how is this a barrier to treatment? How are the billing procedures for MAT challenging for clinicians who are prescribing? In this CME NEI Podcast, Dr. Larissa Mooney answers these questions and more on MAT for OUD.

Optional CME Credits / Certificate Instructions: After listening to the podcast, to take the optional posttest and receive CME credit, click HERE.

Learning Objectives: After completing this educational activity, you should be better able to:

• Describe the challenges to treating opioid use disorder (OUD) with medication assisted therapy (MAT)
• Explore treatments designed to optimize cessation of opioid addiction
• Discuss legal barriers and insurance barriers to treatment of OUD

 Accreditation and Credit Designation Statements: The Neuroscience Education Institute (NEI) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

MDs and DOs: NEI designates this enduring material for a maximum of 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit ™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. A posttest score of 70% or higher is required to receive CME credit.

Nurses and Physician Assistants: the ANCC and NCCPA accept organizations accredited by the ACCME as “providers of formally approved continuing education hours” (ANCC) and “Category 1 CME” (NCCPA). The content in this activity pertains to pharmacology and is worth 0.75 continuing education hour of pharmacotherapeutics.

Peer Review: The content was peer-reviewed by an MD specializing in psychiatry to ensure the scientific accuracy and medical relevance of information presented and its independence from bias. NEI takes responsibility for the content, quality, and scientific integrity of this CME activity.

Disclosures: All individuals in a position to influence or control content are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships. Although potential conflicts of interest are identified and resolved prior to the activity being presented, it remains for the participant to determine whether outside interests reflect a possible bias in either the exposition or the conclusions presented.

Faculty Interviewer / Author

Andrew J. Cutler, MD

Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY

Grant/Research: Acadia, Aevi Genomics/Cerecor, Alder/Lundbeck, Akili Interactive, Alkermes, Allergan, Axsome, Biohaven, Daiichi Sankyo, Intra-Cellular, Ironshore, Janssen, Lilly, Lundbeck, Neurocrine, Novartis, Otsuka, Sage, Sunovion, Supernus, Takeda, Tris

Consultant/Advisor: Acadia, Adlon, AiCure, Akili Interactive, Alfasigma, Alkermes, Allergan, Avanir, Cognitive Research, Intra-Cellular, Ironshore, Janssen, Lundbeck, MedAvante-ProPhase, Neurocrine, Novartis, Noven, Otsuka, Purdue, Sage, Sunovion, Supernus, Takeda, Teva

Speakers Bureau: Acadia, Alfasigma, Alkermes, Allergan, Arbor, Avanir, Gedeon Richter, Intra-Cellular, Ironshore, Janssen, Lundbeck, Neurocrine, Otsuka, Sunovion, Supernus, Takeda, Teva, Tris

Faculty Interviewer / Author

Larissa J. Mooney, MD

Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences; Director, Addiction Medicine Clinic; University of California, Los Angeles Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Los Angeles, CAChief, Substance Use Disorders Clinic, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA

No financial relationships to disclose.

Pre-Interview Author

Sabrina K. Bradbury-Segal, PhD

Medical Writer, Neuroscience Education Institute, Carlsbad, CA

No financial relationships to disclose.

The Planning Committee and Peer Reviewer have no financial relationships to disclose.

 Disclosure of Off-Label Use: This educational activity may include discussion of unlabeled and/or investigational uses of agents that are not currently labeled for such use by the FDA. Please consult the product prescribing information for full disclosure of labeled uses.

 Cultural and Linguistic Competency: A variety of resources addressing cultural and linguistic competency can be found in this linked handout.

 Support: This activity is supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Alkermes.

 Released: Sept 30, 2020          CME credit expires: Sept 30, 2023

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