Opioid Use Treatment & Resources
As a clinician, you strive to provide the best evidence-based, patient-centered care to your patients. MaineHealth wants to provide you with up-to-date information about current Maine prescribing laws and MaineHealth guidelines, as well as tools to help you address chronic pain, safe opioid prescribing, diagnosis and treatment of opioid use disorder. The information on this page is here to offer you resources and support.
NEW: Earn CEU Credits
MaineHealth is pleased to offer two new provider education modules. Upon completion, 0.50 CME hours are available for each training (AMA PRA Category 1 CME credits).
Module 1: Naloxone - Reducing Risk and Saving Lives
- Recognize who is at highest risk of overdose
- Describe the signs and symptoms of opioid overdose
- Compare and contrast use of various naloxone formulations
- Review how to talk to patients about their overdose risk and offer naloxone
- Detail the tools in Epic that relate to naloxone prescribing
Module 2: Having Difficult Conversations with Your Patient
- Express concerns that they may have an opioid use disorder
- Discuss tapering their chronic opioid pain regimen
- Address unexpected urine drug screen results
- Discuss the safety of MAT and alleviating any fears
- Address concerns around opioid use during pregnancy, including DHHS reporting
Chronic Pain & Safe Opioid Prescribing
MaineHealth Controlled Substances Agreement
Maine Medical Partners Informed Consent for Opioid Prescriptions
Opioid Prescription Law Fact Sheet
CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain
Maine Quality Counts Chronic Pain Playbook Resources
Maine Medical Association Maine Independent Clinical Information Service
Diagnosis & Treatment of OUD
Opioid CME & Trainings
Online Learning Modules:
Earn your CME credit needed for Public Law- 488/BOLIM requirement
- Maine Quality Counts: Caring for ME- offers 6 webinar modules at 1.5 CME credits each
- Provider’s Clinical Support System for Opioid Therapies (PCSS-O)- offers 11 modules at 1 AMA credit for each
- Safe & Competent Opioid Prescribing Education (SCOPE* of Pain)-offers 2 AMA PRA Category 1 credits and 2 MOC Part II credits (*You need to be registered to Scope and there may be a cost)
- American Society of Addiction Medicine -23 modules opportunities with varying credits available:
- National Institute on Drug Abuse-8 hour online buprenorphine waiver training has 10 modules. Earn up to 9 AMA PRA Category 1 credits at a cost:
- Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion offers “Pathways to Safer Opioid Use”- This is a 1-hour long course, offering 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit:
Co-occurring Collaborative Serving Maine:
About the Guidelines
The clinical guidelines and policies on this page assist clinicians in standardizing the evaluation, diagnosis, and care of patients, with the goal of achieving optimal outcomes. The guidelines translate national recommendations and the best available evidence into local context.
Adherence to these guidelines should limit unwanted or unintended variation in practice, but guidelines are not meant to be prescriptive. The clinician retains the responsibility to select the appropriate guideline for a particular patient and to use the guideline to the extent that it serves the individual patient.
Any given approach must be carefully considered with each individual patient to ensure that an effective Shared Decision Making process is in place, which reflects the patient's personal wishes, medical history, and family history.