UT Health San Antonio leads statewide effort to treat opioid use disorder

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UT Health San Antonio is leading a movement to change how opioid use disorder is treated in Texas.

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission has awarded UT Health San Antonio a $7.2 million contract for the Texas Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (TxMOUD) initiative.

Jennifer Sharpe Potter, Ph.D., M.P.H., is leading TxMOUD, which is the largest training and technical assistance effort in Texas for opioid use disorder.

The program will educate medical providers in prescribing evidence-based treatment, manage a network of trained health providers throughout the state, administer funding to providers for patients who are unable to pay and track the initiative’s success and patient outcomes.

“Recovery from opioid use disorder is possible. Most people don’t realize that it is a treatable medical condition. These dollars will improve quality of care and provide access to life-saving treatment,” said Dr. Potter, professor of psychiatry and vice dean for research in the Long School of Medicine.

TxMOUD builds on the highly successful program, GetWaivered Texas, that Dr. Potter and her team developed to streamline the Drug Enforcement Agency’s waiver process for prescribing buprenorphine, an FDA-approved medication used to treat opioid use disorder.

TxMOUD will cover the cost of medication, including buprenorphine and naltrexone (two evidence-based treatments), and other treatment costs for those patients without the ability to pay for care.

“We are proud to be leading this movement to change how opioid use disorder is treated in Texas because we believe all people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect as they navigate treatment options,” Dr. Potter said.

Learn more about the TxMOUD.

Read the full news release.



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