ORN Fall 2026 - Contingency Management for Stimulant Use Disorder: New Evidence for Reducing Mortality

Description:

Stimulant use disorder (StUD) is the fastest-growing driver of overdose deaths in the United States, yet unlike opioid use disorder (OUD), there are no FDA-approved medications. Contingency management (CM) is the most effective behavioral treatment for StUD, but uptake has been slow and long-term outcomes—including mortality—have been understudied. This presentation describes a cohort study using linked electronic health records and death records from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the largest integrated health system in the U.S., examining whether patients with StUD who received CM had reduced all-cause mortality compared to matched controls who did not. Results demonstrated that CM was associated with a 41% reduction in mortality over one year (aHR=0.59, 95% CI=0.36, 0.95), comparable in magnitude to the mortality benefit of buprenorphine for OUD. The session will cover the study design, findings, clinical implications, and current landscape of CM implementation including policy barriers and ongoing state Medicaid demonstrations.

Learning objectives:

At the conclusion of this seminar, attendees should be able to:

Describe the epidemiology of stimulant use disorder and its association with mortality, including among patients with co-occurring opioid use disorder.
Summarize the evidence base for contingency management as a first-line treatment for stimulant use disorder and explain how it works.
Interpret findings from a real-world cohort study demonstrating that contingency management is associated with a 41% reduction in all-cause mortality among veterans with stimulant use disorder.

CME

Continuing Medical Education (CME) Credits Available

Participants in this program may earn the following CME credits:

✔ 1 AOA Category 1-A Credit
✔ 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
✔ 1 AAPA Category 1 CME Credit
✔ 1 Nurses CNE Credit

Earn valuable continuing education credits while enhancing your professional knowledge!

Instructions and Claiming CME

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What is ORN

Help is here! The Opioid Response Network (ORN) is your resource for no-cost education, training and consultation to enhance efforts addressing opioid and stimulant use disorders.
ORN has consultants in every state and territory to deploy across prevention, treatment, recovery and overdose prevention.
Share your needs via the “Submit a Request” form at www.OpioidResponseNetwork.org. Within one business day, your regional point person will be in touch to learn more.

Speaker:

Lara Coughlin, PhD

Lara Coughlin, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan. She co-directs Michigan Innovations in Addiction Care through Research and Education (MI-ACRE), serves as Mental Health Equity Faculty Lead for the Eisenberg Family Depression Center, and is a facilitator of the National Contingency Management Community of Practice. Dr. Coughlin’s research focuses on developing and implementing evidence-based interventions to improve addiction treatment engagement and outcomes, particularly among underserved populations. Her work emphasizes behavioral economics, contingency management, digital health approaches, and pragmatic strategies to increase access to effective substance use treatment in real-world settings. She leads multiple NIH- and PCORI-funded studies and partners closely with health systems, Medicaid plans, state agencies, and community organizations to translate research into practice and policy.

DISCLAIMER

ACCREDITATION:
In support of improving patient care, American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

DISCLOSURE AND CONFLICT OF INTEREST RESOLUTION:
All conflicts of interest of any individual(s) in a position to control the content of this CME activity will be identified and resolved prior to this educational activity being provided. Disclosure about provider and faculty relationships, or the lack thereof, will be provided to learners.

Funding:

Funding for this initiative was made possible (in part) by grant no. 1H79TI088037 from SAMHSA. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Summary

Availability:

Registration Required

Access expires on Oct 01, 2029

Location:

Online Meeting

Date / Time:

Sep 09, 2026 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM ET

Cost:

FREE

Credit Offered:

1 AAPA Category 1 CME Credit

1 AMA PRA Cat 1 Credit

1 Nurses CNE Credit

1 AOA Category 1A Credit

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