North Dakota

No opioid laws

Pre-Approved Evidence-Based Strategies Menu to align with the goals and objectives of North Dakota’s State Targeted Response to the Opioid Crisis Grant:

PREVENTION
Strategy	Description and Guidance for Implementation
Objective 2.1: Decrease access to unneeded prescription opioid medication
Support adoption of best practice policies relating to pain management and prescribing practices	Collaborate with primary care providers, the medical association, and other prescribing professionals about best practices for prescribing opioids, managing patient pain, and identifying signs of OUD. Advocate for the adoption or enhancement of policies relating to pain management and prescribing practices. Utilize evidence-based strategies, outlined in North Dakota’s Stop Overdose resources for professionals, SAMHSA’s Opioid Overdose Prevention Toolkit, and CDC’s Opioid Prescribing Guidelines.
Increase utilization of North Dakota’s PDMP	Assess local utilization rates for various professions and identify gaps to target activities. Pursue policy development and promote benefits of PDMP utilization to prescribers, pharmacies, and authorized behavioral health providers.
Increase ND Take Back locations	Provide information and resources to pharmacies about the Yellow Jug Old Drug program available in North Dakota and how to apply to participate in the program. Promote existing/new local Prescription Drug Take Back programs within service area.
Promote safe use of medication through comprehensive messaging	Disseminate Lock. Monitor. Take Back. resources and materials to the general public, Yellow Jug Old Drug pharmacies, and Take Back locations at local law enforcement centers. Make enhancements to Lock. Monitor. Take Back. messaging to support local conditions and needs when necessary.
Objective 2.2: Increase availability and utilization of naloxone as an evidence-based opioid overdose prevention practice
Purchase naloxone for professional organizations	Work with stakeholders to purchase naloxone for community agencies/organizations, including law enforcement, first responders, and schools. Provide naloxone training to community agencies/organizations, as approved by the State.
Promote evidence-based overdose prevention through comprehensive messaging	Disseminate Stop Overdose resources and materials to those most impacted by (risk of) overdose, including the general public and professionals. Implement messaging specific to North Dakota’s Good Samaritan Law. Make enhancements to Stop Overdose messaging to support local conditions and needs when necessary.
Increase number of pharmacists prescribing naloxone	Advocate for the prescribing of naloxone within pharmacies, utilizing supporting data and resources. Provide information on how to become a naloxone prescriber to all local pharmacists not currently prescribing naloxone. Promote local pharmacies prescribing naloxone to the general public.

TREATMENT/RECOVERY
Strategy	Description and Guidance for Implementation
Objective 1.1: Increase utilization of Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) as a clinically appropriate evidence-based practice for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) treatment
Enhance utilization of MAT as an evidence-based practice for treatment of OUD	Collaborate with State-level Champion Prescriber to support efforts to increase utilization of MAT. Collaborate with physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician’s assistants, and other behavioral health providers. Utilize evidence-based strategies outlined in North Dakota’s Stop Overdose resources for professionals, SAMHSA’s Opioid Overdose Prevention Toolkit, and CDC’s Opioid Prescribing Guidelines to support efforts.
Support adoption or enhancement of policies supportive of MAT within local behavioral health residential programs	Collaborate with relevant stakeholders to advocate for the adoption or enhancement of policies supportive of MAT within local behavioral health residential programs. Provide training to local behavioral health residential programs about effective policies and procedures supportive of MAT, as approved by the State.
Address barriers to receiving treatment	Utilize local data to support the development of systems of care to expand access to treatment. Support treatment providers with the implementation of activities to engage and retain patients in treatment.
Support innovative telehealth in rural and underserved areas to increase the capacity of communities to support OUD treatment	Collaborate with relevant stakeholders to support the adoption or expansion of telehealth programs in rural and underserved areas within identified service area.
Objective 1.2: Increase access to peer and other evidence-based recovery support services
Offer localized train-the-trainer program for evidence-based peer recovery support services	Enhance community-based recovery support systems through the utilization and implementation of evidence-based training programs, as approved by the State. Collaborate with State to develop process for ensuring peer and other evidence-based recovery support services are locally implemented. Collaborate with relevant stakeholders to identify and recruit appropriate professionals to participate in train-the-trainer program.
Support innovative telehealth in rural and underserved areas to increase the capacity of communities to support recovery	Collaborate with relevant stakeholders to support the adoption or expansion of telehealth programs in rural and underserved areas within identified service area.
Objective 1.3: Increase communication efforts to reduce stigma surrounding Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) and needle exchange/syringe service programs
Reduce stigma surrounding OUD through comprehensive messaging	Develop an ongoing community awareness messaging plan addressing stigma surrounding Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), utilizing Stop Overdose resources when applicable. Implement messaging plan to the general public.
Increase awareness of and reduce stigma surrounding Opioid Treatment Program (OTP) services through comprehensive messaging	Develop an ongoing community awareness messaging plan addressing stigma surrounding Opioid Treatment Program (OTP) services. Implement messaging plan to the general public.
Reduce stigma relating to syringe service programs through comprehensive messaging	Disseminate evidence-based information and literature about syringe service programs, including North Dakota-specific information, to relevant stakeholders, individuals at risk, and the general public within service area. Collaborate with community stakeholders and North Dakota Department of Health to pursue the implementation of a community syringe services program.