The correctional environment presents a tempting opportunity for treating the opioid addicted in the U.S. Potential benefits include a monitored, controlled environment, adjunctive services such as behavioral health, and ties with community health and social services. Challenges include medication availability, diversion potential, the regulatory environment, and lack of willingness to act on the part of both health care and custody leadership. Still, the potential number of patients to be treated is high enough in essentially any community to warrant a careful look by state and local officials and decision makers. In this panel, experts will offer a brief refresher on the principles of addition medicine, risks and benefits of treatment of opioid disorder in a correctional environment, and will discuss recent events and innovations.

Learning Objectives

• Describe the driving principle, from a medical perspective, behind the use of medications to treat OUD
• List three common pitfalls and risks that can occur when operating an MAT program within a jail or prison
• List at least one recent significant development that affects the treatment of patients with OUD in a jail

Level

Intermediate