Stigma

An Emergency Medicine Guide to Medication for Opioid Use Disorder

Session originally hosted April 2024. 

Using buprenorphine in the emergency department (ED) to treat opioid use disorder (OUD) is both safe and highly effective, yet certain barriers exist that make it underutilized and difficult to access. One of the most challenging barriers is stigma, which is found throughout the care process and targets both patients and medication.

In this training, we will focus on identifying the origins of stigma among ED clinicians, staff, and patients. We will explore de-stigmatizing language and behaviors while practicing how to improve interactions with patients and colleagues in the ED.

 At the conclusion of this training, learners should be able to: 

• Identify origins of clinician related stigma.  
• Detect stigma among patients related to medication for opioid use disorder.  
• Demonstrate de-stigmatizing language and behaviors.  
• Recognize and critique stigmatizing behaviors among colleagues.  

Note: Continuing medical education (CME) credits are being pursued by the MHA Keystone Center, and we anticipate that these opportunities will count toward the DEA eight-hour training requirement on the treatment and management of patients with opioid or other substance use disorders.