Induction refers to the process of starting a patient on buprenorphine (with or without naloxone; the combination product is most often preferred).

The purpose of this fact sheet is not to provide details on pharmacology or the use of these medications, but rather to help you decide which might be best for a given patient.

The Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale (COWS) is an 11-item scale designed to be administered by a clinician.

The Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale (COWS) is an 11-item scale used for rating the degree of opioid withdrawal.

It’s hard to predict whether a particular person will experience withdrawal or how severe their symptoms will be. 

Getting patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) completely off opioids, so-called “detox,” is generally not advisable.

Like all substance use disorders, opioid use disorder (OUD), defined by the DSM-5, includes 11 criteria.

As with any psychiatric interview, start by building an alliance and showing interest in your patient in a general way.

This template can be downloaded and adapted for your charting, or you can use it as a guide to remind you of important topics to cover during the initial interview.

As treatment options for patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) expand, it’s important to have a handy overview available to guide your conversations with patients.