COLLABORATING WITH MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS TO PREVENT OPIOID MISUSE | 1 

Identifying Needs and 

Opportunities for Collaboration 

Opportunities for Collaborating with Prescribers to 

Prevent Opioid Misuse 

Prescriber education is a term used to describe efforts to change prescriber 

behavior. Prescribers are healthcare practitioners with the authority to issue 

prescriptions for controlled substances, including opioids. They include 

physicians, registered nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, 

dentists, and even veterinarians. 

Prescribers are important partners in efforts to prevent prescription drug misuse and overdose. 

Uniquely positioned to moderate the supply and demand for prescription opioids, prescribers 

can also play a key role as experts in communicating the risks of opioid misuse, identifying 

patients at risk for opioid misuse and overdose, and promoting safe opioid use. 

This tool presents examples of state- and local-level opportunities for collaborating with 

prescribers in a variety of sectors to plan and support prescriber education programming. The 

list is not comprehensive but can be used as a starting point for thinking about ways to connect. 

OPPORTUNITIES AT THE STATE LEVEL 

Partner Opportunities for Collaboration

Medical Boards • Engage medical and nursing boards to create and institute 

prescriber guidelines that align with the CDC Guidelines for 

Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain, providing technical assistance 

as needed. 
COLLABORATING WITH MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS TO PREVENT OPIOID MISUSE | 2 

Partner Opportunities for Collaboration

• Offer assistance coordinating academic detailing1 opportunities for 

prescribers within the state system.

Medical Professional Schools • Work with medical, dental, nursing, and veterinarian schools to 

ensure that best practices for opioid prescribing, preventing 

prescription drug and opioid misuse/overdose, alternative pain 

management therapies, and other relevant information is 

incorporated into educational curricula and continuing education 

programming.

Veterans Affairs Medical 

Centers 

• Promote best practice guidelines for prescribing opioids. 

• Work with providers to assess the prevention needs of veterans, 

provide information on naloxone, and increase awareness on the 

role of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) in 

preventing opioid misuse. 

Veterinarian Associations • Engage state-level veterinarian organizations to increase 

awareness of veterinarian clinics as a possible source of 

prescription drugs for diversion.2

• Provide education, information, and resources to increase 

awareness of the opioid crisis and potential implications for 

veterinarians (e.g., how to recognize individuals who may be 

attempting to obtain prescription opioids for their pets that 

they then go on to sell or misuse, themselves.)

OPPORTUNITIES AT THE LOCAL LEVEL 

Partner Opportunities for Collaboration 

Hospitals • Reach out to hospitals to access data on overdose-related 

emergency department (ED) visits. 

• Assess local ED’s willingness and need for assistance implementing 

naloxone distribution programs. 

1 Academic detailing refers to a structured one-on-one educational intervention in a prescriber’s practice setting, typically 

delivered face-to-face.

2 Diversion is the redirection of controlled substances from their intended, lawful purpose to illicit use. Increases in the 

diversion of prescription opioids may contribute to increases in illicit opioid use and related overdose risks. 
COLLABORATING WITH MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS TO PREVENT OPIOID MISUSE | 3 

Partner Opportunities for Collaboration 

• Train prescribers on opioid safety, naloxone administration, and 

using the state’s PDMP.

Local Health Centers and 

Regional/County-level Medical 

Groups

• Support prescribers in holding educational events for 

patients and disseminating literature and information in 

health center lobbies or resource kiosks. 

• Share examples of effective organizational policies relating to 

prescribing practices and training requirements. (Larger 

regional-or county-level systems and managed care systems 

often set policy for partner organizations.)

Private Medical Practices • Promote use of state and/or national guidelines for prescribing 

opioids. 

• Convene prescribers for training on naloxone administration 

and using the state’s PDMP.

• Invite prescribers to participate in local prevention efforts as 

champions for change. 

Private Veterinarian Practices • Develop materials and trainings to educate veterinarians on misuse 

of pet medications. 

SPTAC@edc.org | samhsa.gov/SPTAC