• Carr MM, Lou R, Macdonald-Gagnon G, Peltier MR, Funaro MC, Martino S, Masheb RM. Weight change among patients engaged in medication treatment for opioid use disorder: a scoping review. The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse. 2023 May 18; 1-15.
• Frost MC, Soyer EM, Achtmeyer CE, Hawkins EJ, Glass JE, Hallgren KA, Williams EC. Treating opioid use disorder in veterans with co-occurring substance use: a qualitative study with buprenorphine providers in primary care, mental health, and pain settings. Addiction science & clinical practice. 2023 May 4; 18(1):26.
• Zaman T, Bravata DM, Byers AL, Krebs EE, Leonard SJ, Sandbrink F, Barker W, Keyhani S. A national population-based study of cannabis use and correlates among U.S. veterans prescribed opioids in primary care. BMC psychiatry. 2023 Mar 17; 23(1):177.
• Sasson C, Dieujuste N, Klocko R, Basrai Z, Celedon M, Hsiao J, Himstreet J, Hoffman J, Pfaff C, Malmstrom R, Smith J, Holstein A, Johnson-Koenke R. Barriers and facilitators to implementing medications for opioid use disorder and naloxone distribution in Veterans Affairs emergency departments. Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. 2023 Apr 1; 30(4):289-298.
• Acharya M, Hayes CJ, Li C, Painter JT, Dayer L, Martin BC. Comparative Study of Opioid Initiation With Tramadol, Short-acting Hydrocodone, or Short-acting Oxycodone on Opioid-related Adverse Outcomes Among Chronic Noncancer Pain Patients. The Clinical Journal of Pain. 2023 Mar 1; 39(3):107-118.

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• Giving Veterans an Active Voice in Creating a Veteran-Centered Chronic Pain Research Agenda
  Veterans Action League (VAL) 2.0 was a two-year community engagement project (2019–2021) that sought to develop a national Veteran-centered chronic pain research agenda that includes Veteran-generated recommendations for chronic pain management and chronic pain research priorities. Findings showed that Veterans’ most frequently cited need for chronic pain management and treatment was better access...
  
  Date: March 23, 2023
• 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

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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: Managing Acute Pain in Patients with Opioid Use Disorder on Medication-assisted Treatment - Supplemental Materials

  Managing Acute Pain in Patients with Opioid Use Disorder on Medication-assisted...Managing Acute Pain in Patients with Opioid Use Disorder on Medication-assisted...Managing Acute Pain in Patients with Opioid Use Disorder on Medication-assisted

• 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

• 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

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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.