The United States is in the midst of an urgent and complex opioid crisis. A coordinated response requires identifying and addressing professional practice gaps (PPGs) related to pain management, opioid use disorder (OUD), and other substance use disorder (SUD) care, as well as integrating evidence-based best practices into health professional education and training curricula across the continuum from undergraduate training into post-graduate continuing education.
A new National Academy of Medicine Special Publication describes five data-informed strategies to support those goals: establishing minimum core competencies, aligning incentives, fostering interprofessional collaboration, investing in continuing education, & instituting practice improvement. Together, these priorities can advance a person- and family-centered approach for the continuum of health professions education to more effectively respond to the opioid crisis.