SAMHSA Launching Mobile App for Treating Opioid Addiction
"There's nothing like MATx in the field today," said SAMHSA Principal Deputy Administrator Kana Enomoto. "It will be a significant step forward in improving timely access to medication-assisted treatment by enabling physicians and other health care practitioners to better provide effective, evidence-based, and in some cases, life-saving treatment to people with opioid use disorders."
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is about to launch MATx, a free mobile app that will give health care practitioners immediate access to vital information about medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder. SAMHSA said it will officially launch Oct. 21.
"There's nothing like MATx in the field today," said SAMHSA Principal Deputy Administrator Kana Enomoto. "It will be a significant step forward in improving timely access to medication-assisted treatment by enabling physicians and other health care practitioners to better provide effective, evidence-based, and in some cases, life-saving treatment to people with opioid use disorders."
Key features of the app include these:
- Information on medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in the treatment of opioid use disorders and treatment approaches for practitioners
- A buprenorphine prescribing guide, which includes information on the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 waiver process and patient limits
- Clinical support tools such as treatment guidelines, ICD-10 coding, continuing education opportunities, and recommendations for working with special populations
- Access to critical helplines and SAMHSA's treatment locators
Information about the free app and how to download it to a mobile device is available at http://store.samhsa.gov/apps/MAT. SAMHSA developed it as part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Opioid Initiative, which was launched in March 2015 and is focused on improving opioid prescribing practices; expanding access to MAT for opioid use disorder; and increasing the use of naloxone to reverse opioid overdoses.