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Abstract

The opioid epidemic refers to the current widespread misuse of both prescription and nonprescription opioids in the United States, which was ignited by the increased prescription of opioid pain medications starting in the late 1990s (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], 2019). Data from the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health showed that 11.4 million people in the United States admitted to misusing opioids in the year prior (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2018). Opioid misuse can have serious consequences, including overdose and death. Drug overdoses involving opioids resulted in over 47,600 deaths in the U.S. during 2017, representing a 12% increase from 2016 (Scholl, Seth, Kariisa, Wilson & Baldwin, 2019). In 2017, the director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services called the opioid epidemic a public health emergency and announced a 5-Point Strategy to Combat the Opioid Crisis. Included in these five strategies is ?improving access to treatment and recovery services? for opioid use disorder (OUD) (HHS, 2017). Among the most effective treatments for opioid use disorder is Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT).

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