Our Services
We support clinicians and direct care staff to increase their capacity for, and comfort in, using best practices to manage the medications of individuals with substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health disorders.
Education and Training
Medication Education and Training
Effective medication management is complex. Health and human services agencies and congregate care programs play an important role in monitoring medication usage and ensuring patient safety.
Our team develops customized professional development and education programs to inform staff about medications relative to their areas of practice.
Medication observation, documentation, and operation-based training
Evidence-based clinical training to remain current with new and existing therapies, including Medication for Addiction Treatment (MAT) and medications to treat co-occurring disorders
Training and educational materials related to medication initiatives
Medication Observation Program (MOP) Training
Targeted training for programs with licensed and unlicensed staff in settings where medications are self-administered by patients and residents.
Similar to the Massachusetts MAP program which trains staff to administer medications to individuals. MOP prepares direct care staff to monitor or assist in the self-administration of medications to individuals living in residences in the community, such as group homes.
Pharmacy Intern Program - Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE)
Each year we offer 2,000 hours of advanced clinical training to university and college students enrolled in a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) Program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE).
This is an elective opportunity for students to obtain specialized knowledge and skills related to substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health disorders in under-served patient populations with complex social needs.
Rotation hours may be used for the North American Pharmacist Licensure Exam (NAPLEX).
For more information about EMO Health’s APPE rotation, contact your college or university’s office of experimental education and/or email us directly at admin@emo.health.
Continuing Education for Healthcare Professionals and Allied Health Professions
We provide approved continuing education credits through partnerships with professional associations, universities, and other organizations for pharmacists, nurses, physical therapists, and addiction professionals. Our knowledge-based activities cover a variety of substance use disorder (SUD) topics including methadone, buprenorphine, naltrexone, and medication-focused recovery.
Cooking for Recovery
Our interactive cook-and-learn webinar series, offered in partnership with Boston Medical Center’s Teaching Kitchen, provides general healthy nutrition practices and strategies for individuals in recovery and the programs that feed them. This multidisciplinary approach to treatment and recovery recognizes that food is medicine.
Registered dietitians educate participants on the unique nutritional needs of individuals with substance use disorders. The target audience is patients, as well as any staff who are involved in the menu planning, food preparation, and cooking in congregate care and residential programs. For more information, please email Victoria Huh at vhuh@emo.health
Clinical Support and Medication Therapy Management
Our people-centered treatment and clinical support services are designed to meet the evolving needs of patients and coordinate medication access across the continuum of care. Some of our most successful medication solutions include:
Medication therapy management
Targeted medication adherence counseling
Medication support planning to build wellness capital and keep patients engaged in treatment
Controlled substance management to reduce misuse of medications
Addressing behavioral health polypharmacy
Medication Prescribing Services
EMO prescribing services prevent gaps in medication therapy that occur when individuals transition between facilities and care settings.
Our Nurse Practitioner is available by telehealth appointments to assist individuals with do not have a current supply of medications and/or do not have a healthcare provider with medication evaluations and temporary/bridge supplies of psychiatric medications, Suboxone®/buprenorphine, naltrexone, and other maintenance medications.
Medication Call Center - Launching in Winter 2023
Staff face many challenges in addressing the complex medication needs of individuals with substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health disorders. The medication call center provides real-time pharmacist consultation for direct care staff managing medications for adult patients in Massachusetts community and congregate care settings. This service is specifically designed to support BSAS-licensed and approved providers answer questions related to:
Drug interactions and side effects
Duplicate therapy
Safety concerns related to dosing and frequency, including missed doses, overuse, and underuse
Clinical support and information about psychotropic medications
Technical Assistance, Pharmacovigilance, & Drug Safety Consulting
Pharmacovigilance starts with staff education and training. We help organizations break down complex medication responsibilities into actionable tasks. Additionally, we help programs implement the right policies and procedures to minimize medication errors.
Our evidence-based and data-driven solutions will build your staff’s capacity to confidently monitor and manage medications. Data gathered from audits and other evaluation strategies is used to measure improvements in staff performance and medication safety.
Turning Policy into Practice
Workflow management and process-mapping from the moment a medication enters the building to the time it is disposed of or returned to the patient
Preparing standard operating procedures (SOPs) and quality assurance processes
Developing standard forms and documentation practices
Assisting with internal reporting and external regulatory compliance
Designing medication rooms and storage areas
We work directly with regional managers, licensors, and investigators to assist programs licensed by the Massachusetts Bureau of Substance Addiction Services (BSAS) to achieve clinical, operational, and safety excellence when it comes to prescription drugs.
Research and Evaluation
Research on current and potential models of care and evaluation of new and existing programs is essential to improve access to medications.
We work with government groups, public agencies, city health departments, universities, nonprofits, and key stakeholders to develop, support, and conduct research on a wide-variety of health-related topics.
Overdose Data to Action (OD2A)
In partnership with the CDC and Massachusetts Department of Public Health, OD2A supports jurisdictions across Massachusetts use high quality data on fatal and non-fatal overdoses to inform prevention and response efforts. EMO Health is participating in a multi-year grant to provide upstream prevention strategies, specifically linkages in care and leveraging pharmacists to ensure individuals with SUDs are connected to the care and medications they need. Evidence-based practices shows access to medication for addiction treatment reduces the risk of overdose by nearly 50%.
Pharmacists’ Initiative Survey and Research
In partnership with RIZE Massachusetts and Commonwealth Medicine, a division of the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, EMO Health is taking part in a $175,000 RIZE grant to improve the state’s addiction workforce ecosystem. EMO will assist RIZE to conduct research – including a representative survey of nearly 14,000 Massachusetts pharmacists on the knowledge, attitudes and practices of pharmacists regarding patients with SUD, their role in treating and preventing SUD, incorporating harm reduction into their professional practices and to assess how stigma may affect services.