While the use of medications has proven to be an effective strategy for treating opioid use disorder, practitioners must be aware of concurrent use of non-prescribed, illicit substances that can negatively impact treatment and potentially harm patients.
At the recent Cape Cod Symposium on Addictive Disorders, Kelly Olson, PhD, director of clinical affairs for Millennium Health, shared key considerations for monitoring patients’ medications within the context of a comprehensive treatment approach, and underscored the skills needed to identify and navigate polysubstance use challenges.
Shortly after her presentation in Hyannis, Massachusetts, Addiction Professional caught up with Dr Olson to discuss emerging drug trends, challenges with polysubstance use by patients who are receiving medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder, and tools that providers can use to address these issues and improve patient outcomes.