Sadly, a classmates and friend suffered a stroke forcing him to pause his education right before he would have submitted his rank list. Please share and consider donating to help support his recovery and family. https://t.co/2Ky3Z1cUqo

Last night, Toledo City Council approved $800,000 to purchase the medical debt of Toledoans, creating roughly $160-240 million in debt relief. This is what it looks like when your government works for you. Toledo is leading the way!

This point dovetailing with other themes from this week—the chaos of encampment sweeps and police harassment discussed by @RNBluthenthal and high-risk use (alone, in secret) during hospitalization discussed by @ehyshka. Happy to be here. #AMERSA2022

“What happens if we shift what's supposed to happen next when someone is navigating chaotic use? Create an infrastructure for people to bring down the hiding, bring down the stigma, bring down the running back and forth, the conversation about where they get their supply from.”

“Mandated treatment, civil commitment—any time we do that, we have failed. I hear you (quoting @madras_bertha): ‘Not everyone should be there, but some people should be there.’ But when we create the space for some people, the line. Always. Moves. That is what we cannot afford.”

“Involuntary treatment is addressing the wrong issues with the wrong framework. Unethical, counterproductive, likely racially disparate. Perpetuating a legal mindset—and expensive as hell.” -@Kassandra_Fred discussing the alternative interventions for people with SUD

“And finally, it means that we give up on people. And their ability to see themselves and to make choices for themselves.” -@Kassandra_Fred #AMERSA2022

“And at a number of the programs, people commonly return to use after discharge or release. And that leaves little incentive to increase client's internal motivation—a key factor inning gaugement, retention, and completion.”

“The people who want treatment cannot get it. A lot of people are there that are forced to be there. And a large portion of those people don't finish because it didn't work for them…Also, can we report to want to save lives if what we do increases the likelihood of fatality?”

“When the relationship starts with coercion, there will always be a barrier to care. As a social worker I have said love is not tough, it is durable, and help should support and not harm.” @Kassandra_Fred on involuntary commitment to drug treatment programs at #AMERSA2022

Sharing slides from an incredibly motivating opening plenary at #AMERSA2022 by @nabarund on what it means to represent drug users in our work, the value in involving lived experience in science, and the responsibility to share it all back to communities.

Disagree. Article needs to cite broader variety of experts. We lost 100K people from #opioid overdoses last year. We spend most of our money on law enforcement, which is useless/harmful. If drugs were legal & regulated, no one would be dying of fentanyl. https://t.co/spQAmzMjCj

Americans taking the self-own to argue their government is too corrupt & incompetent to legalize drugs is a sight to see

Thanks to Avani Yaganti, @PoojaLagisetty, @itsjenthomas, @MicheleHeisler, @Amy_Bohnert, @mihealthfund, @UM_IHPI, and @UMIntMed for their help with this research published in @DovePress’s Journal of Pain Research!

Primary care is crucial for engaging this population, and unintended restrictions in treatment access may be associated with many negative outcomes, including hospitalization, suicidal ideation, and transition to illicit use.

4) fear of liability & use of new guidelines to justify not prescribing opioids 5) delayed prescription receipt due to prior authorization and pharmacy issues 6) poor availability of effective non-opioid treatments

These barriers were attributed to six themes: 1) reduced clinic willingness to manage prescription opioids for new patients 2) lack of ⏰ & 💵 for quality opioid-related care 3) paucity of multimodal care & coordination between providers (cont'd.)

New research: patients with chronic pain face numerous barriers in accessing both high-quality pain treatment and non-pain care due to policy, logistical, and clinic-level factors. View our (open-access!) qualitative study and conceptual model here: https://t.co/Ffhd4pNCF8

ICD diagnostic codes are used to measure prevalence and treatment outcomes of #OUD. But how accurately do they describe patients’ #opioid use? A new paper: 🧵(1/7) https://t.co/O0STZpUxPs

So excited to launch the COVID-19 Vaccine Prioritization for People with Disabilities Dashboard, which tracks vaccine prioritization across four disability-related categories. @JHUDisability @ThinkEquitable #NoBodyIsDisposible #HighRiskCOVID19 https://t.co/CWOcJnLFYc