Abstract
Opioid and other substance use disorders have risen in prevalence to approximately 38% of the adult population in the U.S. along with contributing to thousands of deaths in adults varying in age from 26-64 years (Centers for Disease Control, 2017). Primary care providers may provide care for patients with opioid or other substance use disorders within their practice. Suboxone is a medication that can be utilized to help individuals overcome these addictions in combination with counseling and behavioral therapy. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to implement and evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention with mental health counselors at a local facility and to increase awareness of the suboxone program and encourage enrollment of their patients in the program within a primary care setting. A pre-test was completed by 16 counselors prior to the educational session on familiarity with suboxone treatment protocols. Post-test scores following the intervention demonstrated an increase in familiarity with the dosing, adverse effects, the best time to start and stop Suboxone, and how to refer patients to the treatment center. Additionally, 13 new patients were recruited to the clinic suboxone program during the three months of the DNP project.