Interactive Tool Helps People Participate in Decisions about their Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder

02/24/2017

As a part of its comprehensive strategy to address the opioid use crisis and overdose epidemic in the United States, SAMHSA launched a new interactive tool for consumers. Decisions in Recovery: Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder supports people with opioid use disorder in making informed decisions about their care and treatment choices.

The online tool and accompanying handbook were developed to help people with opioid use disorder learn about medication-assisted treatment (MAT), explore and compare treatment options, and discuss treatment preferences with their healthcare provider.

Prescription opioids, such as hydrocodone, oxycodone, and fentanyl, and the illegal opioid, heroin, reduce the perception of pain. Repeated use can result in opioid overdose, dependence, and addiction. In 2015, nearly 2.4 million Americans had an opioid use disorder. MAT can successfully treat opioid use disorder, and for some people struggling with addiction, can help sustain recovery.

MATx App for Substance Use Disorder

Individuals can use the interactive tools to review medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in the treatment of opioid use disorder, identify their personal goals, develop a recovery plan, and watch videos of people who struggled with opioid use disorder and are now succeeding in their recovery journey.

“These resources will be helpful for anyone wanting to explore recovery from opioids,” said Keris Myrick, Director of Consumer Affairs at SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services. “The tools can be used by individuals, family members, and treatment providers. Together with many other resources, SAMHSA offers a suite of materials available to help people achieve recovery.”