
Massive Open Online Course
Impacting the Opioid Crisis: Prevention, Education, and Practice
for Non-Prescribing Providers
This open-learning course is designed primarily for non-prescribing healthcare, behavioral health, dental and social services professionals, as well as graduate-level students in these fields. Other individuals may also benefit from this course such as educators and physicians. Continuing education credits will be offered in 2023.
How it Works
This course will empower non-prescribing providers to directly impact the ongoing opioid crisis in the United States through increased knowledge and tools that will transform practice and policies. The course will inform you about the opioid epidemic and provide information and research about evidence-based strategies that are focused on prevention, intervention, education, or policy.
As a learner, you will have the ability to select all modules or individual topics that interest you most. The course can be followed in a linear or non-linear structure according to your preferred viewing order, and is taught by experts in the field of opioid prevention, intervention, treatment, and policy. Through lectures, panels and interviews, knowledge checks and quizzes, and additional readings and activities, you can explore topics that are most relevant to your work or practice.
Enroll Now
The project was developed collaboratively between the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, the U-M Injury Prevention Center, Michigan OPEN, and the Center for Academic Innovation.
Featuring IPC Core Faculty: Amy Bohnert, Chad Brummett, Patrick Carter, Rebecca Cunningham, Gina Dahlem, Michael Englesbe, Jason Goldstick, Rebecca Haffajee, Paul Hilliard, Mark Ilgen, Allison Lin, Jenifer Martin, Donovan Maust, Quyen Ngo, Phil Veliz, Maureen Walton, Golfo Tzilos Wernette, Sarah Stoddard, and Jessica Roche
Course Objectives & Curriculum

Enrolled participants will learn to:
- Explain the factors that contributed to the current opioid crisis.
- Understand the pathophysiology of pain and its treatment, including what opioids are and how they work.
- Understand how to reduce unintended use and misuse of opioids using various strategies, including prescribing guidelines, surveillance, safe disposal of unused opioids, and intervention messaging.
- Identify what strategies and tools you can employ to impact the safe use of opioids across clinical care settings and with a variety of populations.
- Describe best practices for assessing and treating opioid use disorder (OUD) and explain the evidence that informs these best practices.
- Understand different aspects of public policy that can impact the opioid epidemic.
Module 1: Epidemiology and History of the Opioid Crisis Course introduction and overview of the factors that contributed to the current opioid crisis |
Module 4: Working with Patients and the Public An overview of the strategies and tools you can use to impact the safe use of opioids across clinical care settings and with a variety of populations. |
Module 2: Understanding Pain Introduction to the pathophysiology of pain and its treatment, including the definition of opioids and how they work |
Module 5: Addiction Treatment and Recovery Overview of best practices for assessing and treating opioid use disorder (OUD) and an overview of the evidence that informs these best practices |
Module 3: Prevention of Misuse and Abuse Covers how to reduce unintended use and misuse of opioids using various strategies, including prescribing guidelines, surveillance, safe disposal of unused opioids, and interventional messaging |
Module 6: Public Policy Covers different aspects of public policy that can impact the opioid epidemic |