Workplace Solutions: Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder
The opioid overdose epidemic continues to claim lives across the U.S. with a record 47,600 overdose deaths in 2017. (This number represents 67.8% of the 70,237 overdose deaths from all drugs) [CDC 2018a]. More Americans now die every year from drug overdoses than in motor vehicle crashes [CDC 2016]. The crisis is taking an especially devastating toll on certain parts of the U.S. workforce. High rates of opioid overdose deaths have occurred in industries with high injury rates and physically demanding working conditions such as construction, mining, or fishing Massachusetts Department of Public Health 2018; CDC 2018b]. Certain job factors such as high job demands, job insecurity, and lack of control over tasks have also been linked to opioid use [Kowalski-McGraw et al. 2017]. Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) (also known as medication based treatment*) has been shown to be effective for many people with opioid use disorder [SAMHSA 2015b; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2019]. In addition to providing general information about MAT, this document provides information for employers wishing to assist or support workers with opioid use disorder.