• Maciejewski ML, Zepel L, Hale SL, Wang V, Diamantidis CJ, Blaz JW, Olin S, Wilson-Frederick SM, James CV, Smith VA. Opioid Prescribing in the 2016 Medicare Fee-for-Service Population. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2020 Nov 20.
• Becker WC, Krebs EE, Edmond SN, Lin LA, Sullivan MD, Weiss RD, Gordon AJ. A Research Agenda for Advancing Strategies to Improve Opioid Safety: Findings from a VHA State of the Art Conference. Journal of general internal medicine. 2020 Nov 3.
• Chang ET, Oberman RS, Cohen AN, Taylor SL, Gumm E, Mardian AS, Toy S, Revote A, Lewkowitz B, Yano EM. Increasing Access to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder and Complementary and Integrative Health Services in Primary Care. Journal of general internal medicine. 2020 Nov 3.
• Frank JW, Bohnert ASB, Sandbrink F, McGuire M, Drexler K. Implementation and Policy Recommendations from the VHA State-of-the-Art Conference on Strategies to Improve Opioid Safety. Journal of general internal medicine. 2020 Nov 3.
• Frank JW, Carey E, Nolan C, Hale A, Nugent S, Krebs EE. Association Between Opioid Dose Reduction Against Patients' Wishes and Change in Pain Severity. Journal of general internal medicine. 2020 Nov 3.

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• JGIM Supplement Features VA Research on Improving Opioid Safety among Veterans with Chronic Pain and Addiction
  In the fall of 2019, HSR&D convened a state-of-the-art (SOTA) conference – “Effective Management of Pain and Addiction: Strategies to Improve Opioid Safety” – to develop research priorities for advancing the science and clinical practice of opioid safety, including both the use of opioid analgesics and managing opioid use disorder (OUD). A group of researchers and VA clinical stakeholders defined ...
  
  Date: December 1, 2020
• Cannabinoid Use Increased while Opioid Use Decreased among VA Patients Undergoing Total Joint Replacement
  This single-institution (VA Palo Alto) study sought to determine whether preoperative cannabinoid use and opioid use increased or decreased over a 6-year interval among total hip and knee arthroplasty (THA and TKA) patients – and whether complications were associated with cannabinoid use. Findings showed that use of cannabinoids in Veterans undergoing total joint arthroplasty was far greater than ...
  
  Date: October 1, 2020
• Treatment Disparities for Vulnerable VA Patient Populations with Opioid Use Disorder
  This study examined the association between vulnerable populations, facility characteristics, and receipt of medications for opioid use disorder (OUD). Findings showed that since the last national study of VA patients (using FY2012 data), the prevalence of receipt of medications for OUD increased overall from 33% to 41%; however, vulnerable patient populations – including women, older, Black, rura...
  
  Date: August 18, 2020
• Opioid Agonist Therapy Infrequent for Veterans with Opioid Use Disorder Admitted to a VA Hospital
  This retrospective cohort study sought to describe and examine patient- and hospital-level characteristics associated with the receipt of opioid agonist therapy (OAT) during VA hospitalization for various reasons. Findings showed that the delivery of OAT was infrequent, varied across the VA healthcare system, and was associated with specific patient and hospital characteristics. Only 15% of the en...
  
  Date: April 14, 2020
• Among Veterans Who Experience Homelessness, Non-fatal Overdose is a Relatively Common Problem
  Overdose is one of the most common causes of death for younger homeless individuals, but the prevalence of non-fatal overdose among the homeless is unknown. Investigators in this study administered a survey to Veterans who had experienced homelessness (current or past) and received primary care at one of 26 VA medical centers across the nation asking if they had experienced an overdose within the ...
  
  Date: March 17, 2020

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• 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...Publications » Inprogress » Sep18 » Improving Opioid Safety Health Services Research & Development...This Issue: Improving Opioid Safety Overview: National Opioid Crisis Ongoing HSR&D

• 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...Publications » Inprogress » Sep18 » Improving Opioid Safety Health Services Research & Development...This Issue: Improving Opioid Safety Overview: National Opioid Crisis Ongoing HSR&D

• 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...Inprogress » Sep18 » Overview: National Opioid Crisis Health Services Research & Development...Issue: Improving Opioid Safety » Table of Contents National Opioid Crisis Overview

• 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...Dental Stewardship of Antibiotics and Opioids Health Services Research & Development...September 2018 In This Issue: Improving Opioid Safety » Table of Contents Increasing

• Effects of VHA Opioid Policy on Prescribing and Patient Outcomes || 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...Inprogress » Sep18 » Effects of VHA Opioid Policy on Prescribing and Patient Outcomes...Improving Opioid Safety » Table of Contents Effects of VHA Opioid Policy on

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Other Resources

• Visit the VA’s Office of Mental Health and learn more about substance use disorders, screening tools, programs, and services.
• 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.