• Evans CT, Fitzpatrick MA, Poggensee L, Gonzalez B, Gibson G, Jurasic MM, Echevarria K, McGregor JC, Gellad WF, Suda KJ. High prescribing of antibiotics is associated with high prescribing of opioids in medical and dental providers. Pharmacotherapy. 2022 Jul 22.
• Sousa JL, Raja P, Huskamp HA, Mehrotra A, Busch AB, Barnett ML, Uscher-Pines L. Perspectives of Patients Receiving Telemedicine Services for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment: A Qualitative Analysis of User Experiences. Journal of addiction medicine. 2022 Jul 21.
• Edmond SN, Wesolowicz DM, Moore BA, Ibarra J, Chhabra M, Fraenkel L, Becker WC. Opioid tapering support using a web-based app: Development and protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial. Contemporary clinical trials. 2022 Jul 18; 119:106857.
• Yan CH, Ramanathan S, Suda KJ, Khouja T, Rowan SA, Evans CT, Lee TA, Calip GS, Gellad WF, Sharp LK, National Dental Practice-Based Research Network Collaborative Group. Barriers to and facilitators of opioid prescribing by dentists in the United States: A qualitative study. Journal of the American Dental Association (1939). 2022 Jul 18.
• Peng C. , Dayer L., Burlett M., Clement C., Azhar G., Painter JT. EPH44 Relationship between Concurrent Use of Opioids and Gabapentin and Falls Among Older Adults with Chronic Opioid Therapy. [Abstract]. Value in health : the journal of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research. 2022 Jul 1; 25(7, Supplement):S442.

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• VA Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder was Maintained During the COVID Pandemic Through Rapid Shift to Telehealth
  At the beginning of the COVID pandemic, key federal policy changes were implemented to decrease barriers to telehealth-delivery of buprenorphine, a life-saving medication treatment for patients with opioid use disorder (OUD). This study examined the impact of these COVID-19 policies on buprenorphine treatment across different modalities (telephone, video, and in-person visits). Findings showed tha...
  
  Date: July 28, 2022
• Antipsychotic Prescribing Decreased in VA Nursing Homes, but Prescribing Alternative Drugs, such as Opioids, Increased
  This study sought to evaluate national trends in prescribing antipsychotic and other central nervous system (CNS)-active medications for Veterans with dementia residing in VA nursing homes, as well as how use has changed over time. Findings showed that antipsychotic use steadily decreased between FY2009 and FY2018 (from 34% to 28%), with similar declines in anxiolytic prescribing (from 34% to 27%)...
  
  Date: May 26, 2022
• Predictive Tool Associated with 22% Lower Odds of All-Cause Mortality among High-Risk Veterans Taking Opioids
  In 2018, VA mandated a case review intervention that targeted patients who had been prescribed opioid analgesics and who were at high risk of adverse outcomes. The Stratification Tool for Opioid Risk Mitigation (STORM), a provider-facing dashboard that uses predictive analytics to stratify patients prescribed opioids based on their risk for overdose/suicide, was developed to identify these patient...
  
  Date: May 2, 2022
• High Virologic Cure Rates for Hepatitis C Virus among Veterans with Opioid Use Disorder Treated with Elbasvir/Grazoprevir
  Elbasvir (EBR)/grazoprevir (GZR) is a fixed-dose combination treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV). This study sought to evaluate the real-world effectiveness of EBR/GZR among Veterans with HCV genotype (GT) 1 who also had a diagnosis of opioid use disorder (OUD). Findings showed that high rates of virologic cure were achieved among VA patients with HCV, OUD, and multiple comorbidities, including ...
  
  Date: January 25, 2022
• Death from Overdose Involving Stimulants Increasing in Veterans
  This study sought to describe trends in stimulant-alone and stimulant and other substance use overdose deaths among Veterans and to measure patient and treatment use characteristics across stimulant-related overdose death profiles. Findings showed that the rate of deaths among Veterans from stimulant-related overdose, alone and in combination with other substances, tripled from 2012 to 2018 with t...
  
  Date: October 14, 2021

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• Evidence Brief: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) for Chronic Pain, PTSD, TBI, Opioid Addiction, and Sexual Trauma - Supplementary Materials

  ...(TMS) for Chronic Pain, PTSD, TBI, Opioid Addiction, and Sexual Trauma - Supplementary...(TMS) for Chronic Pain, PTSD, TBI, Opioid Addiction, and Sexual Trauma - Supplementary...(TMS) for Chronic Pain, PTSD, TBI, Opioid Addiction, and Sexual Trauma Supplementary

• Evidence Brief: Benefits and Harms of Long-term Opioid Dose Reduction or Discontinuation in Patients with Chronic Pain - Supplementary Materials

  Brief: Benefits and Harms of Long-term Opioid Dose Reduction or Discontinuation in...Brief: Benefits and Harms of Long-term Opioid Dose Reduction or Discontinuation in...Brief: Benefits and Harms of Long-term Opioid Dose Reduction or Discontinuation in

• Improving Opioid Safety || In Progress

  In 2013, VA launched the Opioid Safety Initiative (OSI), the first of several...system-wide initiatives to address opioid overuse. As a result, by mid-2016 the...This Issue: Improving Opioid Safety Overview: National Opioid Crisis Ongoing HSR&D...HSR&D Studies Effects of VHA Opioid Policy on Prescribing and Patient Outcomes

• Overview: National Opioid Crisis || In Progress

  In 2013, VA launched the Opioid Safety Initiative (OSI), the first of several...system-wide initiatives to address opioid overuse. As a result, by mid-2016 the...Issue: Improving Opioid Safety » Table of Contents National Opioid Crisis Overview...Overview The misuse of and addiction to opioids (i.e., prescription pain relievers

• Increasing Dental Stewardship of Antibiotics and Opioids || In Progress

  In 2013, VA launched the Opioid Safety Initiative (OSI), the first of several...system-wide initiatives to address opioid overuse. As a result, by mid-2016 the...September 2018 In This Issue: Improving Opioid Safety » Table of Contents Increasing...Antibiotics and Opioids Feature Article Antibiotics and opioids are the top therapeutic

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Other Resources

• Learn more about VA HSR&D’s State of the Art conferences on opioid safety and non-pharmacological approaches to chronic musculoskeletal pain management.
• Learn more about the Quality Enhancement Research Initiative’s IMPROVE project, which focuses on integrating pain support in primary care in order to decrease the number of Veterans using opioid therapy for pain management.
• Visit the VA Office of Research & Development’s Substance Use Disorders (SUD) topic page for information about milestones in SUD research across all VA research services.