Colorado Hospital Association Announces ColoradoMAT, a New Addiction Treatment Resource for Emergency Providers
GREENWOOD VILLAGE, COLO. – Oct. 21, 2019 – Today, Colorado Hospital Association (CHA) announced the release of ColoradoMAT, an online resource for emergency department (ED) providers to more easily connect patients struggling with opioid use disorder to medication-assisted treatment, or MAT.
ColoradoMAT provides a guide for ED administrators and providers on providing MAT in the acute care setting, including steps on how to start a MAT program, provider education and clinical resources. It also includes a treatment locator, provided in partnership with Treatment GPS and OpiSafe, which gives up-to-date information on outpatient MAT providers across the state. This functionality allows ED providers to connect patients to necessary follow-up care easily and quickly.
“Medication-assisted treatment has been proven to reduce the risk for overdose deaths and increase patients’ time spent in recovery, but it has been historically difficult for providers to connect patients with the resources they need in spite of the treatment’s efficacy,” said Darlene Tad-y, MD, CHA vice president of clinical affairs. “With the help of ColoradoMAT, EDs across the state can serve as primary access points for initiating treatment of opioid use disorders and help address the opioid epidemic that has gripped our state.”
ColoradoMAT was made possible by generous grant funding from the Colorado Department of Human Services Office of Behavioral Health and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. ColoradoMAT, available at www.ColoradoMAT.org, is based on California Bridge, a program of the Public Health Institute.
CHA and its member hospitals and health systems are committed to addressing the opioid epidemic in Colorado. In addition to ColoradoMAT, the Association has led a variety of opioid safety initiatives, including the Colorado MAT Pilot – an initiative in two hospital EDs aimed at increasing patient access to MAT. Similarly, CHA developed the Colorado ALTO Project, which provides hospital EDs the necessary training and resources to utilize alternatives to opioids (ALTOs) as a first-line pain treatment instead of opioids. After the Colorado ALTO Project achieved dramatic success, CHA and its partners expanded the program into Colorado’s Opioid Solution: Clinicians United to Resolve the Epidemic (CO’s CURE) – an initiative that aims to take the same ALTO principles into other care specialties, beginning with hospital medicine.
About Colorado Hospital Association
Colorado Hospital Association (CHA) is the leading voice of Colorado’s hospital and health system community. Representing more than 100 member hospitals and health systems throughout the state, CHA serves as a trusted, credible and reliable resource on health issues, hospital data and trends for its members, media, policymakers and the general public. Through CHA, Colorado’s hospitals and health systems work together in their shared commitment to improve health and health care in Colorado. Learn more at www.cha.com.
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