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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Prescription drug misuse

Methadone Prescribing by Addiction Specialists Likely to Leave Communities Without Available Methadone Treatment
Examines two policy proposals for expanding access to methadone treatment for opioid use disorder. Highlights the impact on availability in rural areas. Discusses the role of mental health professional shortage areas and Federally Qualified Health Centers in each proposal.
Author(s): Paul J. Joudrey, Dylan Halpern, Qinyun Lin, et al
Citation: Health Affairs Scholar, 1(5)
Date: 11/2023
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RCORP: Helping Meet Rural Needs
Video series featuring the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy's Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP), a multi-year initiative that funds a range of grant programs to help rural communities treat and prevent opioid use disorder. RCORP grantees share how they have used this funding to address the needs of their communities.
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Fentanyl in Native Communities: Native Perspectives on Addressing the Growing Crisis
Recording of a November 8, 2023 hearing discussing fentanyl in both Native Hawaiian and American Indian and Alaska Native Communities. Features testimony from Lummi Nation, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of North Dakota, Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Reservation, and representatives of the behavioral health and public health fields. Discusses the criminal justice system, behavioral health workforce shortages, health impacts of historical trauma, and more. Captions available within the video player.
Additional links: Dr. A. Aukahi Austin Seabury, Ph.D., I Ola Lāhui, Inc. - Testimony, Dr. Claradina Soto, Ph.D., Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California - Testimony, Mr. Eric M. Gettis, Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium - Testimony, The Honorable Bryce Kirk, Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck - Testimony, The Honorable Jamie S. Azure, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of North Dakota - Testimony, The Honorable Tony Hillaire, Lummi Nation - Testimony
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
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The Opioid Crisis in the Pandemic Era
Analyzes trends in opioid use during the 2019-2021 years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Provides information on the history of the opioid crisis and mortality rates by age, race/ethnicity, type of opioid, state, and urbanicity, including non-metro, small/medium metro, and large metro.
Additional links: Appendix
Author(s): Colin Planalp, Andrea Stewart
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, State Health Access Data Assistance Center
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Calendar Year (CY) 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule
Fact sheet providing an overview of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) final rule regarding updates and changes to the Medicare payments under the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and other Medicare Part B issues for calendar year 2024. Summarizes provisions related to paying separately for Community Health Integration, Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Risk Assessment, and Principal Illness Navigation services; telehealth services; mental health visits furnished by Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), including marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors as eligible for payment at RHCs and FQHCs; and more.
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Extra Episode - Rural Communities Opioid Response Program with Megan Meacham and Sarah O'Donell
Podcast episode featuring Megan Meacham and Sarah O'Donnell from the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. Describes the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP), which aims to improve access to substance use disorder, prevention, treatment, and recovery services in rural communities. Discusses examples of how RCORP grantees are effectively serving communities and tips for accessing resources to address the opioid crisis in tips for accessing resources to address the rural opioid crisis.
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organization: Impact! Communications, Inc.
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Telemedicine Buprenorphine Initiation and Retention in Opioid Use Disorder Treatment for Medicaid Enrollees
Evaluated buprenorphine treatment via telemedicine and overdose outcomes for 91,914 people in Kentucky and Ohio on Medicaid in 2020 to determine the impact of telemedicine on treatment retention and opioid-related nonfatal overdose. Includes discussion on the implications for rural residents.
Author(s): Lindsey R. Hammerslag, Aimee Mack, Redonna K. Chandler, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 6(10), e2336914
Date: 10/2023
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Alaska Facts and Figures: 2022 Drug Overdoses Mortality Update (September 2023)
Describes the number and rate of drug overdose mortality for Alaska residents from 2013 to 2022 by year. Covers drug overdoses by five year rolling average and sex, race, age group, and public health region.
Date: 09/2023
Sponsoring organization: Alaska Division of Public Health
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National Report: Rural Substance Use Disorder Stigma and Treatment Needs
Report explores the role of stigma among rural substance use disorder (SUD) practitioners providing care to people with opioid use disorder (OUD). Bases findings on a survey of rural SUD practitioners across the country and looks specifically at their opinion of OUD patients and OUD treatment. Highlights other perceived barriers and concerns among rural practitioners.
Date: 09/2023
Sponsoring organization: University of Vermont Center on Rural Addiction
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Will Availability of Over-the-Counter Narcan Increase Access?
Highlights state policies and recent research related to over-the-counter naloxone access. Includes information on the impact of rurality on access. Also discusses insurance coverage and impact of cost.
Author(s): Heather Saunders, Robin Rudowitz
Date: 09/2023
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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