VIDEO: Treating opioid use disorder in primary care

CHICAGO — Now more than ever, opioid use disorder must be treated by primary care physicians, according to Ann R. Garment, MD, FACP, a clinical associate professor at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

The CDC estimates there was a 38.4% increase in synthetic opioid deaths during the 12 months ending in May 2020 compared with June 2019.

This increase is due to there being more synthetic opioids, like fentanyl, available as well as less access to care and more isolation during the pandemic, Garment, who is also the codirector of the Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program and section chief of general internal medicine at Bellevue Hospital Center, said during her presentation at the ACP Internal Medicine Meeting.

In this video, Garment describes how PCPs should screen, diagnose and treat opioid use disorder in their practices. She also explains how to obtain an X waiver for prescribing medications like buprenorphine.

“Medication is the No. 1 treatment for preventing opioid overdose deaths,” she said.

References:

Garment AR. Outpatient management of opioid use disorder. Presented at: ACP Internal Medicine Meeting; April 28-30, 2022; Chicago.

Overdose death rates. https://nida.nih.gov/drug-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates#:~:text=Overall%2C%20drug%20overdose%20deaths%20rose,overdose%20deaths%20reported%20in%202020. Accessed May 4, 2022.