Patients and their caregivers need access to high quality, evidence-based information to help make the best decisions about their care and the care of their loved ones. This page highlights the most recently added resources specifically designed to help patients, families, and caregivers make informed decisions. These resources, identified with green tiles, include educational materials, information about non-opioid pain management, and treatment for opioid use disorder and other addictions.
If you’d like to submit materials for inclusion consideration or suggest a future featured topic, please visit CLOUD’s call for submissions page.
A first person story about opioid user Ken whose workplace injury led to a four year addiction to pain killers. Through Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), Ken is on the road to recovery.
This resource is a first person story about an individual, Bill, who took prescription opioids for severe lower back pain and unintentionally overdosed when his physician switched his medication from hydrocodone to methadone to address tolerance. Bill didn’t realize methadone accumulates slowly and remains in the
This 23 page guidebook’s purpose is to name and describe the standards required for recovery residences to meet the NARR Standard. This standard encompasses core principles and individual standards in four domains: administrative and operational, physical environment, recovery support, and good neighbor.
One strategy for improving safe opioid prescribing is to have the patient and the health care provider enter into a prescription pain medication agreement. This sample agreement from SAMHSA can be used as is or adapted as needed.
This one page document gives patients information about what to do if their pain medication is not working.
A one page document for patients and caregivers with information about the risks of prescription medications for children and guidance for how to safely store medications in the home.
This one page document for patients and caregivers provides information on how to safely dispose of unused prescription drug medications including information about medication “take back” programs and an alternative strategy if such a program is not available.
This one page document explains to patients the risks of opioid pain medications and provides tips for talking to health care providers about opioids and pain management.
This one page document explains prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) to patients with answers to questions about what are PDMPs, why are they used, and how is patient privacy protected.
This resource provides a space for patients to record information about the medications they take including the dose, how often they take the medication, the reason for the medication, and the prescriber’s name. This information can be shared with health care providers and can be used to prevent patients taking