Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder (OUD) has emerged as a key strategy for combatting the opioid epidemic. Controlled research has shown it to be more effective than abstinence programs in treating patients with the disorder (Connery, 2015).

Drug Misuse in America 2019: Physician Perspectives and Diagnostic Insights on the Evolving Drug Crisis, a Quest Diagnostics Health Trends™ report, presents findings from analysis of more than 4.4 million de-identified aggregated clinical drug monitoring tests performed by Quest Diagnostics for patients from all 50 states and District of Columbia from 2011 through 2018.

New Case Study now available: When considering Opioid therapy—the importance of baseline drug testing for amphetamines and methamphetamines. When following CDC guidelines and ordering baseline drug testing prior to initiating opioid therapy, it can be challenging to identify potential amphetamine and methamphetamine misuse. This case study illustrates some steps that could be appropriate to take to better understand your patient’s potential use or misuse of these two drugs.