C. Danielle Johnson, MPH and Nicholas Reuter, MPH. Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration/Center for Substance Abuse Treatment/Div. of Pharmacologic Therapies, U.S. Public Health Service, 1 Choke Cherry Rd, Rockville, MD 20857, 240-276-2712, danielle.johnson@samhsa.hhs.gov

The incidence of opioid abuse and addiction has soared over the last decade. Sales of prescription opioids continue to be a growing market, up 136% since 1998. Several monitoring systems point to growing numbers of people misusing prescription opioids (e.g., oxycodone, methadone, morphine, hydrocodone, etc.), being admitted to treatment programs, and showing up in emergency rooms. In 2001, almost 3 million youth ages 12-17 and almost 7 million adults ages 18-25 reported using prescription opioids, non-medically, at least once in their lifetime. And between 1992 and 2000, treatment admission rates for abuse of prescription opioids more than doubled. There are also data that suggest that prescription opioid users resort to heroin use when prescription narcotics become more difficult to obtain, which can lead to other health consequences (e.g., HIV and Hepatitis C). Historically, the methadone Opioid Treatment Program (OTP) setting has been the primary medication assisted-treatment option available to individuals with opioid addiction. There is a demand for alternative treatment options to address the limited treatment capacity of the OTP system. Two new innovations, the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000, and new opioid medications, were implemented to address this demand. These innovations allow physicians, in office-based and other non-traditional provider settings, to treat patients for addictions. Has this new treatment paradigm expanded access to effective treatment and served as an early intervention to prescription opioid abuse?

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the public health implications associated with escalating opioid abuse in the United States.
• Learn how new public health innovations can address opioid abuse.
• Understand how communities can come together to establish effective and successful treatment models (i.e., law enforcement, family practitioners, counseling centers, etc.).

Keywords: Substance Abuse Treatment, Prescription Drug Use Patterns

Related Web page: www.dpt.samhsa.gov

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.