News

Victoria, a former Nurse Care Manager in the OBAT clinic and current psychiatric nurse practitioner in BMC’s Addiction and Behavioral Outpatient Recovery (ABOVE) program, was recently selected as a Recognizing and Eliminating Disparities in Addiction through Culturally-informed Healthcare (REACH) Scholar for the 2021-2022 cohort.

Based in the Department of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine, this one-year fellowship aims to increase the overall number of racial and ethnic underrepresented minority addiction specialists in the Addiction Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine workforce and to increase the number of addiction specialists adequately trained to work with racial and ethnic minority patients with substance use disorders. Victoria’s work with the REACH program will specifically focus on utilizing faith-based community interventions to engage racial and ethnic minority patients in addiction care.

More information about the REACH training program is available here. Please join us in congratulating Victoria on this exciting fellowship!

The BMC MAT Quick Start App was included in MobiHealthNews’s recent news briefs. To read more, click here: https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/pelotons-ma-flurry-fertility-wearables-covid-19-detection-and-more-digital-health-news-briefs

This article from mHealth Intelligence discusses our BMC MAT Quick Start App and how using technology and innovative approaches like this app can expand access to and improve the quality of evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder using medications.

To read the full article, click here: https://mhealthintelligence.com/news/boston-medical-center-launches-mhealth-app-for-mat-providers

BMC OBAT TTA+ is thrilled to announce the release of a mobile application to support clinicians providing evidence-based treatment to patients with opioid use disorder. The BMC MAT Quick Start App is now available to download, free of charge, for both Apple and Android devices. A web-based version of this application is also available on our website.

The app utilizes interactive clinical algorithms to walk clinicians through each step of the medication initiation process and pain management recommendations for patients with OUD. These algorithms are also available to download on our website under “Resources”.

The app does not replace clinical decision-making and is meant to help inform clinicians regarding the use of medications for opioid use disorder. Resources to learn more, including practice guidelines, patient handouts, and links to external organizations are also available through the app.

We would like to applaud our team members, Annie Potter, MSN, MPH, NP, CARN-AP; Andrea Caputo, DNP, FNP-BC, CARN-AP; and Shereen Sodder, BA, for leading this exciting initiative.

You can access the app at the following links:
Our website: https://www.addictiontraining.org/quick-start/
Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bmc-mat-quick-start/id1524468581
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.bmcobat.app

The OBAT TTA team has released our final three videos in this series which aims to provide clinical care teams with education on current issues in the field of addiction treatment. These videos cover ethical dilemmas in inpatient treatment of substance use disorder, written by Zoe Weinstein, MD, MSc; medications for alcohol use disorder, written by Richard Saitz, MD, MPH; and bacterial infections in patients with substance use disorders, written by Simeon Kimmel, MD, MA.

This video series was spearheaded by Alicia Ventura, MPH, OBAT TTA’s Director of Research and Special Projects, and produced by 1623 Studios out of Gloucester, MA. The entire video series can be found on our website here: https://www.addictiontraining.org/resources/videos.php?category=8.

We hope you and your teams have enjoyed these short informational videos and have found them helpful to your practice. Stay tuned for more exciting projects like this from the OBAT TTA team!

“Initiation of Buprenorphine in Patients who are NOT Opioid Dependent” was written by Kristin Wason, MSN, AGPCNP, CARN, Clinical Educator, Office Based Addiction Treatment; Instructor of Medicine, Boston University and Boston Medical Center. This is the twelfth video in a series launched by Boston Medical Center’s OBAT TTA team, spearheaded by Alicia Ventura, MPH, Director of Research and Special Projects, which aims to provide clinical care teams with education on current issues in the field of addiction treatment.

The entire video series can be found on our website here: https://www.addictiontraining.org/resources/?category=8

This video was produced by 1623 Studios out of Gloucester, MA.

In this article from Boston Medical Center’s HealthCity newsletter, OBAT TTA’s Kristin Wason, MSN, NP-C, CARN, discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the significant gap in addiction medicine training among providers who care for these patients and innovative solutions to this problem, including the OBAT TTA team’s COVID-19 drop-in sessions.

To read the full article, click here.

This segment from WBUR’s CommonHealth highlights the efforts of Boston Medical Center’s OBAT clinic to quickly adapt to provide accessible, remote care for patients. OBAT TTA’s Colleen LaBelle, MSN, RN-BC, CARN, discusses how these efforts and regulatory changes have helped to normalize substance use disorder treatment and keep patients more engaged in their care.

To read the full transcription of this segment, please click here.

May is National Nurses Month, a time to recognize all of the nation’s nurse heroes. OBAT TTA acknowledges all of the amazing work performed by nurses and thanks you for making a difference. 

We also wish to acknowledge our very own Justin Alves, RN, ACRN, CARN, who was featured in the Boston Globe’s 2020 Salute to Nurses for the exceptional care he provides to patients.

To view the Salute to Nurses video on the Boston Globe website, click here.

“Reducing the Harms of Incarceration for People with Opioid Use Disorder”was written by Jonathan M. Giftos, MD, Medical Director, Addiction Medicine & Drug User Health (Project Renewal), Former Medical Director, Opioid Treatment Program (Correctional Health Services/Rikers Island), Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine; and featuring Karen Hannon, BSN, RN, LADAC II, CARN, Nurse Manager and Corrections Liaison, Office Based Addiction Treatment, Boston Medical Center. This is the eleventh video in a new series launched by Boston Medical Center’s OBAT TTA team–spearheaded by Alicia Ventura, MPH, Director of Research and Special Projects, which aims to provide clinical care teams with education on current issues in the field of addiction treatment.

The entire video series can be found on our website here: https://www.addictiontraining.org/resources/?category=8

This video was produced by 1623 studios out of Gloucester, MA.