Health care providers in California must learn how to care for the two groups of patients at highest risk of harm: those dependent on high-dose opioids for pain or concurrently on benzodiazepines, and those with substance use disorder (SUD).
While efforts are in place to lower overprescribing, providers still need to safely and compassionately care for the patients with chronic pain (especially those patients taking high-dose opioids and/or concurrent sedatives and wanting safe tapers to lower doses), and those with addiction who need access to effective medications and behavioral treatment.
Provider organizations are under substantial pressure to lower overprescribing, safely treat patients with chronic pain on high-risk regimens, integrate medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and addiction services, and co-prescribe naloxone to stop overdose deaths.
The California Quality Collaborative created Accelerating Opioid Safety: Ambulatory Care Toolkit to guide providers and ambulatory care systems in launching or expanding opioid safety initiatives.
It was produced with support from the California Health Care Foundation.
Authors & Contributors
Crystal Eubanks
As the senior manager of practice transformation at the California Quality Collaborative, Crystal Eubanks is an improvement advisor to health care delivery organizations and practice coaches. She brings quality improvement and leadership experience from ambulatory and primary care delivery systems and Medicaid and Medicare populations, along with a passion for transforming chronic disease and behavioral health care through data- and value-driven design.
Crystal earned a bachelor’s degree in international development from George Washington University (GW) and a master of science in health care quality from the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
