Medication Management of Co-Occurring Opioid Use Disorder in Mental Health Settings

A Guide for Practitioners

Brian Hurley, Allison J. Ober, Vanessa Jacobsohn, Karen Chan Osilla, Keith G. Heinzerling, Erika Litvin Bloom, Katherine E. Watkins

ToolPublished Jul 8, 2021

Psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, and other clinicians who work in mental health settings are in an optimal position to treat co-occurring opioid use and mental health disorders (COD-opioid). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved buprenorphine, naltrexone, and methadone as treatments for opioid use disorder. Of these drugs, buprenorphine/naloxone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone extended-release injectable suspension are available outside federally certified opioid treatment programs and are appropriate for use in mental health settings to treat mental health clients with COD-opioid and enhance the effectiveness of mental health treatment.

This guide prepares mental health practitioners to (1) identify clients with co-occurring opioid use and mental health disorders in mental health settings and (2) treat these clients with an appropriate opioid use disorder medication. It provides a practical strategy for treating clients in mental health settings with buprenorphine/naloxone or naltrexone extended-release injectable suspension.

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RAND Style Manual
Hurley, Brian, Allison J. Ober, Vanessa Jacobsohn, Karen Chan Osilla, Keith G. Heinzerling, Erika Litvin Bloom, and Katherine E. Watkins, Medication Management of Co-Occurring Opioid Use Disorder in Mental Health Settings: A Guide for Practitioners, RAND Corporation, TL-A928-2, 2021. As of October 3, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/tools/TLA928-2.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Hurley, Brian, Allison J. Ober, Vanessa Jacobsohn, Karen Chan Osilla, Keith G. Heinzerling, Erika Litvin Bloom, and Katherine E. Watkins, Medication Management of Co-Occurring Opioid Use Disorder in Mental Health Settings: A Guide for Practitioners. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2021. https://www.rand.org/pubs/tools/TLA928-2.html.
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This research was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (Grant No. 5R34DA046950-02) and carried out within the Access and Delivery Program in RAND Health Care.

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