Welcome
The Missouri Opioid State Targeted Response (STR) and Missouri State Opioid Response (SOR, SOR 2.0, SOR 3.0, and SOR 4.0) projects expand access to integrated prevention, treatment, recovery support, and harm reduction services for individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) and stimulant use disorder (StimUD) throughout the state. The State of Missouri Department of Mental Health (DMH) leads the project, with administration, implementation, and evaluation activities provided by the University of Missouri, St. Louis – Missouri Institute of Mental Health (UMSL-MIMH) together with behavioral healthcare agencies, academic institutions, people with lived experience with addiction, and other content experts from around the state.
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Medication First Approach
The Missouri Department of Mental Health and Opioid STR/SOR grant partners have developed and disseminated a “Medication First” treatment approach to OUD, analogous to the Housing First approach to chronic homelessness, across dozens of Missouri’s state-funded substance use disorder treatment programs.
Key Principles of Medication First
- People with OUD receive pharmacotherapy treatment as quickly as possible, prior to lengthy assessments or treatments planning sessions;
- Maintenance pharmacotherapy is delivered without arbitrary tapering or time limits;
- Individualized psychosocial services are continually offered but not required as a condition of pharmacotherapy;
- Pharmacotherapy is discontinued only if it is worsening the person’s condition.