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Research Brief

Understanding America's Surge in Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Opioids

Oct 7, 2019

Although overdose deaths from heroin and prescription opioids have declined, deaths involving synthetic opioids are on the rise. Much of the current wave of overdoses is linked to one synthetic opioid: fentanyl.
Commentary

Policies That Punish Pregnant Women for Substance Use Don't Help Mother or Baby

Jan 28, 2020

About half of all U.S. states now have policies that criminalize substance use during pregnancy, consider it grounds for civil commitment, or consider it child abuse or neglect. But research suggests that punitive policies aren't beneficial for infants or their mothers.

Explore Opioids

Multimedia

RAND Remote: High Stakes, Fostering Innovation to Stem the Tide of America's Drug Problems

In this RAND Remote presentation, Beau Kilmer discusses how RAND is identifying and evaluating innovative approaches to tackle some of America's most pressing drug problems and help strengthen and safeguard communities.

Jan 28, 2021
Journal Article

Illicit Synthetic Opioid Consumption in Asia and the Pacific: Assessing the Risks of a Potential Outbreak

While many illegally manufactured potent synthetic opioids (IMPSO) are produced in Asia, there is little evidence they have entered markets there. We consider the susceptibility to IMPSO's encroachment in markets in the Asia-Pacific region.

Jan 26, 2021
Journal Article

Methodological Challenges and Proposed Solutions for Evaluating Opioid Policy Effectiveness

In this paper, we provide an overview of methodological challenges facing opioid policy researchers when conducting opioid policy evaluation studies using observational data, as well as some potential solutions to those challenges.

Jan 20, 2021
Journal Article

Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder During COVID-19: Experiences of Clinicians Transitioning to Telemedicine

In the context of the pandemic, buprenorphine prescribers quickly transitioned to providing telemedicine visits in high volume; nonetheless, there are still many unknowns, including the quality and safety of widespread use of telemedicine for OUD treatment.

Jan 6, 2021
Journal Article

Assessment of Filled Buprenorphine Prescriptions for Opioid Use Disorder During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

Retail buprenorphine sales for opioid addiction plateau during COVID-19 pandemic amidst sharp declines in total prescription sales.

Dec 30, 2020
Journal Article

Telehealth Capability Among Substance Use Disorder Treatment Facilities in Counties With High Versus Low COVID-19 Social Distancing

This study aimed to To quantify the availability of telehealth services at substance use treatment facilities in the U.S. at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and determine whether telehealth is available at facilities in counties with the greatest amount of social distancing. Relatively few substance use treatment facilities offered telehealth services at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Policymakers and public health officials should do more to support facilities in offering telehealth services.

Nov 3, 2020
Journal Article

Police Officers, Stigma, and the Opioid Epidemic

The goal of this exploratory project is to help fill gaps in the literature by empirically measuring levels of explicit provider-based stigma toward persons who use opioids.

Oct 28, 2020
Blog

Truth Decay, Opioid Settlement Funds, Veterans Health Care: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on fighting back against Truth Decay, how to spend opioid settlement funds, China's lack of friends, and more.

Oct 23, 2020
Report

Pitfalls and Potholes: Data Issues to Consider When Analyzing State Opioid Policies, September 14, 2020

This webinar focused on data dimensions that researchers should keep in mind when conducting analyses of state opioid policies and when seeking to draw conclusions from other studies.

Oct 21, 2020
Journal Article

A Mixed-Method Comparison of Physician-Reported Beliefs About and Barriers to Treatment with Medications for Opioid Use Disorder

We conducted a mixed-methods study that involved focus group interviews and an online survey disseminated to a random group of licensed U.S. physicians, which oversampled physicians with a preexisting waiver to prescribe buprenorphine.

Oct 13, 2020
Journal Article

Study Design to Evaluate a Group-based Therapy for Support Persons of Adults on Buprenorphine/Naloxone

This study will evaluate whether the adapted intervention, also known as integrating support persons into recovery, is effective in increasing patient retention on buprenorphine when compared to usual care.

Sep 18, 2020
Journal Article

Health Center Implementation of Telemedicine for Opioid Use Disorders: A Qualitative Assessment of Adopters and Nonadopters

Although use of telemedicine for the treatment of opioid use disorders is growing, there is limited research on how it is actually being deployed in treatment. We explored how health centers across the U.S. are using it.

Sep 18, 2020
Journal Article

The Dawn of a New Synthetic Opioid Era: The Need for Innovative Interventions

This paper stems from recent research into understanding the past, present and possible futures of synthetic opioids in North America and beyond.

Sep 17, 2020
Journal Article

Association of Pregnancy and Insurance Status With Treatment Access for Opioid Use Disorder

In this cross-sectional study with random assignment of clinicians and simulated-patient callers, many women, especially pregnant women, faced barriers to accessing treatment. Given the high out-of-pocket costs and lack of acceptance of insurance among many clinicians, access to affordable opioid use disorder treatment is a significant concern.

Sep 3, 2020
Journal Article

Ethics Consultations Related to Opioid Use Disorder

The aim of this study was to characterize ethics consult questions among inpatients with opioid use disorder at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Sep 3, 2020
Journal Article

Monthly Patient Volumes of Buprenorphine-Waivered Clinicians in the US

This cross-sectional study examines the number of patients prescribed buprenorphine by waivered-clinicians. Evidence shows waivered-clinicians who are able to prescribe buprenorphine treat fewer patients than their limit allows. With so much unmet demand for OUD treatment, this suggests the need for ongoing efforts to address treatment barriers.

Aug 27, 2020
Journal Article

Opioid Prescribing History Prior to Heroin Overdose Among Commercially Insured Adults

We used insurance claims to examine the prevalence and prescribing patterns of prescription opioids in a national cohort of individuals experiencing a treated heroin-related overdose between 2010 and 2017.

Jul 31, 2020
Journal Article

Prevalence and Predictors of Driving After Prescription Opioid Use in an Adult ED Sample

Prescription opioid use and driving is a public health concern given the risks associated with drugged driving. We examined the prevalence and correlates of driving after taking prescription opioids among adults seeking emergency department treatment.

Jul 31, 2020
Journal Article

The Public Health Value of Opioid Litigation

This article proceeds in three parts: discussions of the general goals and role of public health tort litigation, the demonstrated and potential value of opioid litigation to achieve public health goals, and a conclusion.

Jul 31, 2020
Journal Article

Systematic Review of the Emerging Literature on the Effectiveness of Naloxone Access Laws in the United States

The existing literature on naloxone access laws in the United States supports beneficial effects for increased naloxone distribution, but provides inconclusive evidence for reduced fatal opioid overdose.

Jul 28, 2020

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