Healthcare Providers
Healthcare Providers and Opioid Use Disorder
Developing and Maintaining a Chronic Pain Management Plan
People with chronic pain and disability benefit when providers understand their situation and concerns and engage them in developing their chronic pain management plan. These resources include information and tips for building a trusting relationship with people with disability, engaging people in pain self-management, and reaching a mutual decision about a chronic pain management plan that includes nondrug methods of pain control.
- Building Trust and Engaging People With Disability in Their Own Care
- Get information on: Person-centered communication techniques to engage people with disability and chronic pain in their own care--including setting expectations and discussing treatment options.
- Communicating With People With Disability to Create a Chronic Pain Management Plan
- Get information on: Setting functional goals, making shared treatment decisions where opioids are a consideration, and establishing pain self-management practices and safer opioid use.
Easy to share resources for people with chronic pain can be found in Developing and Maintaining a Chronic Pain Management Plan.
Monitoring Opioid Use
Distinguishing between insufficiently controlled pain, opioid misuse, and opioid use disorder can be confounding. This information helps identify whether behaviors associated with opioid use are concerning and merit action or require close monitoring. A guide provides tips for managing difficult conversations about opioid use.
- Distinguishing Between Opioid Misuse and Opioid Use Disorder
- Get information on: Assessing behaviors that could be indicative of opioid use disorder, discussing concerns related to opioid use behaviors and diagnostic criteria for opioid use disorder.
- Managing Difficult Conversations About Opioids
- Get information on: Managing Difficult conversations about opioids, introducing the need for changes to opioid treatment using a therapeutic approach, drug urine testing, tapering opioids and resources for managing chronic pain other than medication.
Easy to share resources for people with chronic pain can be found in Monitoring Opioid Use.
Accessing Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Services
These resources provide information about addiction treatment services, facilitating referrals to treatment services that meet the accommodation needs of people with disability, and care coordination for people undergoing addiction treatment.
- Coordinating Care Throughout Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
- Get information on: Encouraging people to enter addiction treatment, tips for making substance use treatment referrals, initiating buprenorphine treatment or finding a waivered provider, and becoming a buprenorphine waivered provider.
- Referral Considerations for Substance Use Disorder Treatment
- Get information on: When to refer individuals to an intensive substance use treatment program, treatment considerations when recommending a treatment program, and finding intensive substance use disorder treatment programs.
- Accommodations to Look For in Substance Use Treatment Programs
- Get information on: Questions to learn if an addiction treatment program is accessible for someone with a disability, steps to accommodate a person with disability, and disability-specific approaches to enable full participation in substance use treatment programs.
Easy to share resources for people with chronic pain can be found in Accessing Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Services.
The Knowledge Hub was developed under grant 90DPGE0006 from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents of these resources do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, and HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.