Champions Among Us: Leading Primary Care to the Forefront of Opioid Use Disorder Treatment

Despite more than a decade of investment in opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment infrastructure, the year 2020 saw the highest mortality related to opioid overdose in American history. Treatment access remains critically limited, with less than half of people living with OUD receiving any treatment. Primary care has been referred to as the “sleeping giant” of addiction care, as few primary care doctors currently prescribe medications to treat OUD. The “clinical champions” framework is a tool that has shown promise in creating the type of mentorship and culture change necessary to expand uptake of medication-based OUD treatment among primary care providers. The early success of this model and the increased availability of tools for broad implementation warrant further investment as a means of leading primary care into a larger role in combatting the opioid addiction epidemic.