Provider Bias In The Treatment Of Opioid Use Disorder

The opioid epidemic was declared a public health emergency in the United States in 2017. Since that time significant financial and medical resources have been used to combat the epidemic. Despite this, rates of abuse, overdose, and death continue to skyrocket. This is particularly true within communities of color, where major discrepancies in the rates of access to treatment exist among Black opioid users, when compared to the white opioid users. When minority opioid users are able access care, they typically experience longer wait times to begin treatment and are more likely to drop out of treatment early, than their white counterparts. Reasons for these disparities include poverty, provider bias, fear of legal consequences, stigma and lack of access to culturally competent health care. The outbreak of COVID-19 has further heightened this crisis, with an estimated 20% increase in fatal overdoses since the start of the pandemic. Again, these deaths have disproportionately occurred among Black Americans. As medical and mental health providers working to fight this epidemic, it is imperative that we are able to look at how our own background and internalized bias may be contributing to minority opioid users receiving substandard treatment. The goal of this presentation is to educate attendees about this issue and provide a supportive space to discuss ideas and concerns. Evidence-based suggestions and interventions for how to provide more culturally competent healthcare will also be provided. The presentation will begin as a didactic style training followed by an interactive discussion with attendees. The discussion will begin with the presenters giving examples of unintentional bias from their own clinical work. Participants should leave the training with an understanding that bias is something we all experience and that acknowledging that is an essential skill in providing the best patient care. Additionally, participants will develop a more nuanced understanding of how bias affects treatment outcomes, and how we can combat the phenomenon moving forward.