The Safe Med LA Coalition is a countywide coalition dedicated to comprehensively addressing prescription drug abuse. The Coalition is currently focusing on expanding access to medication-assisted treatments (MAT) for addiction including, but not limited to, buprenorphine (Suboxone) and injectable naltrexone (Vivitrol). As part of the coalition, a MAT Expansion Action Team has been formed, which is being led by CBAM’s Dr. Keith Heinzerling, along with Drs. Gary Tsai and Brian Hurley.
This MAT Action Team will consist of health care providers as well as members from health plans, LA County DHS and DMH, and other stakeholders. The team is particularly interested in involving primary care providers, community clinics, hospitals, and health organizations that are interested in increasing their capacity to treat addiction but are NOT specialty drug/alcohol treatment programs as it’s known that many patients needing help for substance abuse problems seek help in general medical settings.
Please go to http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/sapc/Plan/StrategicPlan.htm to learn more about the LA County Prescription Drug Abuse Strategic Plan and Safe Med LA. You can also learn more about the Coalition here: https://www.lacare.org/news/coalition-major-health-care-organizations-receives-grant-help-curb-prescription-painkiller.
If you are interested in being a part of these efforts to increase access to anti-addiction medications in Los Angeles County, even if you have no previous experience in treating addiction, please email cbam@mednet.ucla.edu and include Safe Med LA Coalition in your subject line. We will forward all inquiries to the leaders of the coalition. A kick off meeting will be held in the near future, once a list of interested stakeholders and potential members is compiled.