Clinical Challenges

With the lethality, availability and use of stimulants all greatly increasing in the U.S. in recent years and the COVID-19 pandemic complicating the treatment landscape for patients and practitioners alike, it’s critical for providers to weather the storm, Deni Carise, PhD, chief science officer for Recovery Centers of America, told Cocaine, Meth & Stimulant Summit attendees in a Saturday session.

Fentanyl remains the No. 1 illicit substance threat in Vermont, but multiple trends point to cocaine and methamphetamine becoming increasingly prevalent within the state, drug intelligence officer James Downes, MS, and public health analyst Stephanie Thompson, MPA of the Vermont Intelligence Center said in a session presented Friday.

Research recently released by the Massachusetts Center for Health Information and Analysis suggests hospitalized patients with a behavioral health comorbidity are at an increased risk for readmission.

National Institutes of Health officials have outlined additional details on the HEALing Communities Study, a multi-year initiative that will attempt to address gaps in efforts to reach the communities that have been hardest hit by the opioid epidemic and provide evidence-based interventions for OUD.