Medication Assisted Treatment – Hospitals and Emergency Departments

Hospital inpatient care programs and emergency departments are increasingly developing policies and programs to provide medication assisted treatment (MAT) to their patients. This collection features guidelines from the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, resources and tools from the California American College of Emergency Physicians, and links to the Public Health Institute’s California Bridge Program and the California Health Care Foundation’s Support for Hospital Opioid Use Treatment (SHOUT) initiative. Also included is a link to Massachusetts General Hospital’s “Get Waivered” campaign which provides free buprenorpine waiver training and support for creating emergency department programs.

Note: If you know of a resource we can include in this collection of materials for hospital and emergency department MAT programs, please let us know by visiting our call for submissions page.

Policymakers & Community Leaders
Payers & Providers

California Bridge Program

Source: Public Health Institute

The California Bridge Program works with hospitals and emergency departments in California to create programs to induct patients with opioid use disorder onto medication assisted treatment in the acute care setting and facilitate access to substance use disorder treatment by using treatment navigators. Their goal is to change the standard of care for treating

External Website
Payers & Providers

Support for Hospital Opioid Use Treatment (SHOUT)

Source: California Health Care Foundation

This website includes links to 7 webinars that make up the Support for Hospital Opioid Use Treatment (Project SHOUT) initiative of the California Health Care Foundation. Topics covered in the webinar series include: the case for inpatient opioid agonist therapy; buprenorphine and methadone induction; acute pain and

External Website
Payers & Providers

Guidelines for Medication for Addiction Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder within the Emergency Department

Source: Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association

The state of Massachusetts passed legislation in 2018 requiring acute care hospitals to develop programs to initiate medication assisted treatment (MAT) for patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) seen in the emergency department. These guidelines, developed by the Massachusetts Hospital Association and state College of Emergency Physicians, offer clinical and operational recommendations for hospitals when implementing this state policy.

Document
Payers & Providers

A Tool for Opioid Use Disorders in the Emergency Department – Buprenorphine, Suboxone

Source: California American College of Emergency Physicians

This 2 page guide from the California chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians provides a brief overview of administering buprenorphine or suboxone to patients in the emergency department. for treatment of opioid withdrawal. Not a guide for long term medication assisted treatment induction, but a brief overview of when and how to use these medications in an emergency department setting.

Document
Payers & Providers

How to Talk to Your Patients About Safe Prescribing

Source: California American College of Emergency Physicians

This document provides guidance to emergency department physicians about talking to their patients about safe prescribing. Created by the California College of Emergency Physicians it provides tips on what to say to patients when they ask for inappropriate prescriptions and how to provide safe and responsible care in the emergency department.

Document
Patients & Caregivers

Safe Medicine Prescribing

Source: California American College of Emergency Physicians

The California chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians created this patient education flyer to educate emergency department patients about safe prescribing practices.

Document
Patients & Caregivers

Safe Medicine Prescribing – Spanish

Source: California American College of Emergency Physicians

The California chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians created this patient education flyer to educate emergency department patients about safe prescribing practices. Spanish language version.

Document
Payers & Providers

How to Pay for It – MAT for Hospitalized Patients

Source: California Health Care Foundation

A guide to strategies for paying for medication assisted treatment (MAT) for hospitalized patients with opioid use disorder. Part of the “how to pay for it” series from the California Health Care Foundation as part of the California Bridge program, this report describes strategies for how hospitals can receive reimbursement for

Document
Payers & Providers

How to Pay for It – MAT in the Emergency Department

Source: California Health Care Foundation

A guide to strategies for paying for medication assisted treatment (MAT) for patients with opioid use disorder seen in the emergency department. Part of the “how to pay for it” series from the California Health Care Foundation as part of the California Bridge program, this report describes strategies for how hospitals can receive reimbursement for MAT services provided in the emergency department.

Document
Payers & Providers

Get Waivered

Source: Massachusetts General Hospital

A link to the Get Waivered website which helps clinicians obtain Drug Enforcement Administration -X waivers to prescribe buprenorphine for opioid use disorder (OUD). They provide free waiver training as well as support for creating buprenorphine programs in emergency departments and strategies from the field of behavioral economics to help departments adopt new practices to treat OUD.

External Website