
Justice Involved Individuals with Opioid Use Disorder
Individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) often intersect with the criminal justice system. Access to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in correctional facilities has historically been limited. Individuals with OUD are at an increased risk of drug overdose death in the weeks following release from correctional facilities. Access to MOUD, while incarcerated, has been shown to improve outcomes and reduce recidivism post-release. Addressing the barriers associated with providing MOUD is critical in expanding access to treatment for incarcerated individuals.
Objectives:
Review post-release outcomes in correctional facilities when MOUD is not available.
Discuss barriers to implementing MOUD in correctional facilities and understand how treatment reduces the risk of overdose following incarceration.
Describe outcomes associated with recovery and family treatment courts with a focus on one rural Maine alternative sentencing program.
Understand the implementation and evaluation of an extended-release buprenorphine pilot for patients with OUD in a rural Maine jail.
Audience:
Prescribing clinicians and their teams
Continuing Medical Education
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the Maine Medical Education Trust and CCSME. The Maine Medical Education Trust is accredited by the Maine Medical Association Committee on Continuing Medical Education and Accreditation to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Contact Hours
1 contact hour for social workers, licensed clinical professional counselors, and behavioral health professionals
1 Category I contact hour for psychologists are provided. CCSME is a pre-approved sponsor and provider of Professional Education Activities for Psychologists.
1 contact hour CHES. CCSME is a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc.
1 contact hour pending for alcohol and drug counselors from the board of alcohol and drug counselors
Speaker
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Alane O'ConnorDNP
Dr. Alane O’Connor, DNP, spent more than 15 years leading MaineGeneral Medical Center’s efforts to expand access to substance use treatment including rapid access buprenorphine in the ED, developing an inpatient consult service and training primary care providers. During that time, Dr. O’Connor was addiction medicine faculty at Maine Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency, educating more than 100 resident physicians, and led several grant-funded projects in substance use disorder prevention, treatment and harm reduction. She has a particular interest in caring for pregnant and postpartum women with substance use disorders and has published numerous peer-reviewed articles on maternal and infant outcomes. In May of 2020, Dr. O’Connor became the medical advisor of the Maine Maternal Opioid Misuse (MaineMOM) Initiative, a 5-year, $5 million federal grant to expand access to substance use treatment for pregnant and postpartum women in Maine. She serves as the first director of perinatal addiction medicine at Maine Medical Center and trains both resident physicians and addiction medicine fellows. Dr. O’Connor also works to expand access to treatment in the correctional system and is leading a grant funded effort to implement extended-release buprenorphine at the Somerset County Jail in Skowhegan. Finally, Dr. O’Connor co-chairs Maine’s Opioid Response Clinical Advisory Committee, which advises the Governor’s opioid response director on clinical and public policy issues.