Innovative Buprenorphine Initiation Strategies
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Register
- Non-Member - $39
- Regular Member - $29
- Retired - $29
- Early Career Physician - $29
- Resident - $19
- Student - $19
- Associate - $19
- ASAM Staff - Free!
- International Member - $29
- Emeritus Member - $29
- Provisional Member - $29
- Fellow Member - $29
- Honorary Member - $29
- CRT Member - $29
Innovative Buprenorphine Initiation Strategies
Recorded: Thursday, April 24, 2025 to Sunday, April 27, 2025
On-Demand Session
Overview
This 75-minute on-demand session from the ASAM 56th Annual Conference addresses advanced knowledge of OUD treatment initiation, including different novel ways to initiate buprenorphine using methadone, XR buprenorphine, and naloxone, through a case-based discussion of pros and cons and regulatory considerations for each approach such as the 72-hour rule of methadone dispensing.
This session will present cutting edge buprenorphine initiation approaches in a variety of settings. Topics discussed include naloxone-facilitated buprenorphine initiation, low dose buprenorphine initiation with methadone continuation, and use of XR buprenorphine for buprenorphine initiation.
The target audience for this Advanced level session includes physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, other clinicians, researchers, residents, fellows, students, and counselors.
This session addresses the following ACGME Competencies: Patient Care and Procedural Skills, Medical Knowledge, Practice-based Learning and Improvement, Systems-based Practice.
This session addresses the following IPEC Competencies: Interprofessional Communication, Teams and Teamwork.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion, learners will be able to:
- Describe the unique pharmacology of fentanyl and its analogues
- Describe the current evidence regarding buprenorphine and methadone initiation in people using illicit fentanyl.
- Discuss the rationale and potential risks and benefits of innovative OUD initiation strategies
Registration Rates
| Rate Description | Rate |
| ASAM Member | $29 |
| Non-Member | $39 |
| Associate Member | $19 |
| Resident Member* | $19 |
| Student Member* | $19 |
*Residents, Fellows-in-training, Interns, and Students must join ASAM to receive a discounted registration rate. Click here to become an ASAM member. National and Chapter membership dues apply. There is no charge for Students to become a Member, but verification of student status is required.
Membership Question? Call ASAM at 1.301.656.3920, email us, or view the ASAM website for more information.
Refunds & Cancellations
All ASAM eLearning Center refund requests must be made in writing to education@asam.org within 90 days of purchase. Those requesting refunds for courses that are in progress will receive partial refunds or e-Learning Center credit. Automatic full refunds will be made for any course with a live-course component that has been cancelled.
Registration Open: 05/26/2025 - 04/26/2028
User Access Closed: 05/26/2028
Course Instructions
- Click on the Contents tab to watch the on-demand recording.
- Click Complete Post Test to answer multiple choice questions. Participants will have 10 attempts to pass and must answer 4 out of 5 questions correctly.
- Click Complete Evaluation to provide valuable activity feedback. Scroll down on all questions as there may be answer options that expand past the size of the window.
- Click the button Claim Medical Credits in the box titled Claim Credits & Certificate. Choose the type of credit and click submit. Click the button View/Print Certificate to save or print your certificate. You can view/print your certificate at any time by visiting the ASAM eLearning Center, clicking Dashboard, and clicking Transcript/Achievements.
- For Pharmacists ONLY: Complete the task entitled "Enter Pharmacist CPE Monitor Information (Pharmacists Only)". Pharmacists must claim credit and provide their eProfile ID and Birthdate via the Pharmacist CPE Monitor Information survey within 30 days of completing the activity. ASAM will not report CPE Credits claimed 30+ days after activity completion to ACPE. ASAM will not report CPE Credits without accurate and complete information. Courses offering CPE Credit will indicate the amount of credit available for pharmacists on the Credits & Disclosure Tab.
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Melissa B. Weimer
DO, MCR, FASAM
Melissa Weimer is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Addiction Medicine. She is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Public Health and Associate Program Director of the Addiction Medicine Fellowship at Yale University. She is an expert in hospital-based care for patients with substance use disorders and has worked with colleagues to develop successful hospital-based Addiction Medicine Consult Services at both Oregon Health & Science University and Yale University/Yale New Haven Hospital. Dr. Weimer is also a national leader in Addiction Medicine education and has developed curricula for substance use disorder evaluation and treatment and safe and effective pain treatment. Dr. Weimer serves on the national board of ASAM and is the Chair of the ASAM Clinical Practice Guidelines Methodology and Oversight Committee.
No relevant financial disclosures.
Andrew Herring
MD
Dr. Andrew Herring graduated from Harvard Medical School and completed his residency in emergency medicine at Highland Hospital—Alameda Health System (AHS) in Oakland, CA where he continues as an attending emergency physician and Director of Research. He is the AHS Medical Director of Substance Use Disorder Treatment and the past Medical Director of the AHS Functional Restoration Pain Clinic. Dr Herring has led national efforts to transform hospital-based care for substance use disorders and his work has been featured in local and national press including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and National Public Radio. Dr. Herring co-founded and is a PI at CA BRIDGE, one of largest state-level efforts to promote access to medication for opioid use disorder in the hospital settings. Dr. Herring’s research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) and has been published in numerous journals including JAMA Open and Annals of Emergency Medicine; his work focuses on treatment of substance use disorders and pain management. He is a lead investigator for NIDA funded studies. Dr. Herring is board-certified in Emergency Medicine, Addiction Medicine, and Pain Medicine and is a Volunteer Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of California, San Francisco.
No relevant financial relationships
Pouya Azar
MD, FRCPC, DABAM
Pouya Azar, MD, FRCPC, DABAM is the Medical Manager, a psychiatrist and addiction medicine physician at the Complex Pain and Addiction Service (CPAS) of Vancouver General Hospital (VGH), as well as a pain physician at the Transitional Pain Clinic (TPC) also at VGH, and a Clinical Instructor at the University of British Columbia Department of Psychiatry. His clinical interests include adult, child and adolescent addiction psychiatry as well as pain medicine. It is through his work on the CPAS service where Dr. Azar has pioneered several opioid use disorder treatment protocols including buprenorphine induction strategies such as the fentanyl bridge as well as rapid micro-dosing induction protocols, which have been practice changing in the field of addiction medicine, have led to multiple publications, and are currently being used in hospitals all over the world. Dr. Azar is also the Co-Principal Investigator of the first randomized controlled trial which compares buprenorphine/naloxone rapid micro-induction with standard induction. In addition to Dr. Azar’s work at VGH, he works as the Addiction Lead at Foundry Vancouver, a clinic for homeless youth, through St. Paul’s Hospital. Through this work, Dr. Azar has initiated the assertive outreach opioid agonist therapy (OAT) using innovative strategies such as mobile telehealth as well as contingency management to enhance therapy adherence.
Dr. Azar has developed creative strategies for engaging the homeless youth population in treatment, such as hip-hop therapy and mindful martial arts groups. In addition to his clinical interests, Dr. Azar greatly enjoys and is heavily involved with medical education.
Disclosures:
Indivior: Consultant/Advisory Board (Terminated, October 5, 2024); Indivior: Speaker/Honoraria
(includes speakers bureau, symposia, and expert witness) (Terminated, October 5, 2024)
David Wolinsky, MD
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
David Wolinsky, MD, is a board certified Addiction Psychiatrist who serves as an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (SOM), He was raised in the Chicago suburbs and completed his medical school and psychiatry residency training at Northwestern University and University of Michigan, respectively. He stayed on at the University of Michigan to complete an Addiction Psychiatry fellowship with the goal of honing his capacity for diagnosing and treating Substance Use Disorders (SUDS). Dr. Wolinsky took on a role as an attending psychiatrist at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (SOM) after completing his fellowship, where he worked with Addiction Medicine colleagues on the Substance Use Disorder Consultation Service. Through this work, Dr. Wolinsky gained even more fluency in the diagnosis and treatment of Opioid Use Disorder, managing hundreds of cases of opioid withdrawal annually. His expertise has been applied to his work at the Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit (BPRU) of the Johns Hopkins SOM where, as medical director, he oversees all clinical elements of the several human studies occurring there. This responsibility extends to the clinical studies carried out by the Maryland Opioid Research (MOR) group, including an inpatient study exploring rapid induction of buprenorphine closely following naloxone administration.
No relevant financial disclosures.
Accreditation & Credit Designation Statements
Joint Accreditation Statement
In support of improving patient care, the American Society of Addiction Medicine is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
Physicians
The American Society of Addiction Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Nurses
This activity awards 1.25 Nursing contact hours.
PAs
ASAM has been authorized by the American Academy of PAs (AAPA) to award AAPA Category 1.25 CME credit for activities planned in accordance with AAPA CME Criteria. This activity is designated for 1.25 AAPA Category 1 CME credits. Approval is valid until 05/06/2028. PAs should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation.
Pharmacology Hours
This activity has .75 hour that satisfies the requirements for NP and PA Pharmacology Hours.
Pharmacists
This activity will offer 1.25 pharmacy contact hours (.125 CEUs). Pharmacists will be asked to provide identifying information (e-Profile ID and DOB in MMDD format) in order to receive credit and allow reporting to CPE Monitor. (UAN: JA0000141-0000-25-021-H01)
Note for pharmacists: Not all courses offer CPE Credit. For courses that do offer CPE Credit, pharmacists must claim credit and provide their eProfile ID and Birthdate via the Pharmacist CPE Monitor Information survey within 30 days of completing the activity.
ASAM will not report CPE Credits claimed 30+ days after activity completion to ACPE. ASAM will not report CPE Credits without accurate and complete information.
Social Workers
As a Jointly Accredited Organization, ASAM is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. Social workers completing this course receive 1.25 general continuing education credits.
IPCE Credit
This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive 1.25 Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credits for learning and change.
California Association for Drug/Alcohol Educators (CAADE)
This educational program is approved by CAADE: #CP40 999 1225.
California Association of DUI Treatment Centers (CADTP)
This educational program is approved by CADTP: #205.
California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals (CCAPP)
This educational program is approved by CCAPP: #OS-20-330-1224.
Other Professions - Continuing Education Credits (CEUs)
Upon completion of the activity and online evaluation, all other participants may request a certificate of participation. Participants may submit this certificate of participation to their professional organization/institute as documentation for completing this accredited continuing activity.
Maintenance of Certification (MOC) or Continuing Certification Programs (CCP)
This activity is designed to meet the requirements for MOC/CCP for several primary physician boards and for state licensing CME requirements. MOC Credit is only reported and designated for ABA, ABIM, ABP and ABS. By completing the online credit claim and evaluation, the learner permits ASAM to report credits to the appropriate Board. Learn more.
American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA)
Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 1.25 Medical Knowledge MOC points and patient safety MOC credit in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. Participants will earn MOC points equivalent to the amount of CME credits claimed for the activity. It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.
American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA)
This activity offers up to 1.25 CME credits, of which 1.25 credits contribute the patient safety CME component of the American Board of Anesthesiology’s redesigned Maintenance of Certification in AnesthesiologyTM (MOCA®) program, known as MOCA 2.0®. Please consult the ABA website, www.theABA.org, for a list of all MOCA 2.0 requirements.
Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology® and MOCA® are registered certification marks of the American Board of Anesthesiology®
American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM)
Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 1.25 Medical Knowledge MOC points and patient safety MOC credit in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. Participants will earn MOC points equivalent to the amount of CME credits claimed for the activity. It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.
American Board of Pediatrics (ABP)
Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the learner to earn up to 1.25 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit learner completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABP MOC credit.
American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM)
This activity has been designed to satisfy the Lifelong Professional Development requirements of The American Board of Preventive Medicine’s Continuing Certification (CCP) requirements. These credits are not reported directly to ABPM. Please save your certificate for your records.
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN)
This activity has been designed to satisfy the CME requirements of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology’s Continuing Certification (CC) requirements. These credits are not reported directly to ABPN. Please save your certificate for your records.
American Board of Surgery (ABS)
Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the learner to earn credit toward the CME requirement of the American Board of Surgery’s Continuous Certification program. It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit learner completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABS credit.
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC)
The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada will recognize activities registered for CME for MOC as meeting the requirements for Royal College MOC Program Section 3 (Self-Assessment Programs) credits. Visit CME that Counts for Royal College MOC for more information.
Disclosure Information
In accordance with the disclosure policies of ASAM and Joint Accreditation, the effort is made to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all accredited continuing education activities. These policies include identifying and mitigating all relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies for those involved in the creation and dissemination of accredited continuing education. Click here to view the full disclosure listing.
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