Substance Use Disorder Workforce Issue Brief

Many barriers to accessing evidence-based treatment for substance use disorder (SUD), particularly medication assisted treatment, are related to the workforce. Barriers include workforce shortages for certain providers, insufficient training, education and experience, lack of institutional and clinician peer support, provider stigma and inadequate or burdensome reimbursement. Recognizing the importance of the SUD workforce in providing treatment, several questions were added to the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services in 2016. The new survey responses allow us to identify the number of practitioners in the SUD workforce, their professional training, certification, and the ratios of professionals to clients in SUD treatment. This data may help support improved quality and access to care through better understanding of specific staffing need. [5 PDF pages]