Culture refers to the shared beliefs, behaviors, and expectations that shape how clinicians understand and treat patients. It emerges through repeated interactions and the development of common practices within treatment settings. Addiction treatment, however, has deep historical roots in social control and crime prevention. This legacy has produced expectations and routines that often reflect criminal‑justice logic and carceral architecture rather than patient‑centered, evidence‑based care. Within this framework, clinicians may struggle to recognize patient needs, progress, and autonomy.
This lecture will examine the historical foundations of opioid use disorder treatment and highlight treatment conventions that diverge from modern evidence‑based, patient‑centered practice.
At the conclusion of this seminar, attendees should be able to:
Jon Lepley is a family physician with over 20 years of experience treating addiction in primary care, addiction treatment facilities, and correctional institutions. In 2018, he spearheaded the implementation of buprenorphine treatment for all patients with opioid use disorder in the Philadelphia jail system, regardless of their treatment status at the time of entry. He then transitioned to the University of Pennsylvania Health System and served six years as the medical director of addiction medicine at Lancaster General Health. Currently, he treats addiction as a family medicine physician in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Dr. Lepley is a past president of the American Osteopathic Academy of Addiction Medicine (AOAAM) and serves as a trustee for the Foundation of the Pennsylvania Medical Society.