Motivating Patients to Initiate Treatment in the ED

The following videos show different situations and approaches to screening, intervening, treating and managing these patients in emergency departments.

Topics include:

  • Conversation tools and strategies
  • Opioid use disorder & withdrawal assessments
  • Treatment for opioid use disorder
  • Harm-reduction strategies

This series of videos give guidance on how to speak and work with patients to encourage them to enter treatment.


Information contained on this webpage is based on NIDA funded research (see Emergency Department–Initiated Buprenorphine/Naloxone Treatment for Opioid Dependence: A Randomized Clinical Trial). The videos provided above were funded by Aetna, however, all research content featured or discussed in the videos was developed by clinicians from Yale University who have expertise in emergency department settings, with grant funding from NIDA (#5R01DA025991-05) and contract support from NIDA’s Clinical Trials Network. These informational resources have been provided as a courtesy on the NIDAMED Web portal, and do not constitute official clinical guidelines or standards, nor do they necessarily represent the official viewpoint and opinion of the NIH or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.