Expanding access to medication treatment for opioid addiction in Veterans Health Administration through a train-the-trainer stepped care program

By 2017, just over a third of all Veterans diagnosed with opioid use disorder (OUD) received medication treatment for OUD (MOUD).

• Medication treatment for OUD, including methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone, is associated with reductions in illicit opioid use, mortality, criminal activity, healthcare costs, and high-risk behaviors.
• Access to VHA OUD specialty care is often limited by geography and patient choice, particularly concentrated in major hospitals.
• The Stepped Care for Opioid Use Disorder, Train the Trainer (SCOUTT) Initiative was launched in 2018 to improve access to MOUD in non-substance use disorder care settings.
• The SCOUTT Initiative aims to increase MOUD prescribing by training providers in primary care, mental health, and pain clinics.
• A national conference attended by 246 participants from all 18 VHA regional networks marked the initial activities of the SCOUTT Initiative.

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