AMERSA Talks

The Program for Education in Drugs and Alcohol for Latine (PEDAL) is an example of a partnership between community-based organizations and addiction medicine clinicians. In this episode the guest discuss their collaboration to co-develop a training program for promotores, also known as community health workers, to address unhealthy substance use in the Latine community, offering a model for building workforce capacity to address in...

This episode explores the "contagious" nature of stigma in substance use disorders (SUDs), revealing how shame and discrimination spread beyond the 45-50 million Americans with SUDs to affect an estimated 45-300 million family members. While stigma's impact on individuals with SUDs is well-documented, this conversation spotlights how families become "stigmatized by association," driving them "undergrou...

In this episode, Teetotal Initiative will provide insight into an innovative and underexplored but critical component of recovery: the impact of social interaction on recovery capital ecosystems and prevention of return to use. Despite its importance, organizing substance-free events for the community as a recovery tool is underutilized, leaving a gap in day-to-day sober- and recovery-oriented quality of life. This episode highligh...

In this episode, we dive into why language in client and patient records matters—and how it can shape care experiences. We explore practical ways to use non-stigmatizing language in health records and discuss the role of electronic health record (EHR) in shaping documentation. Who designs these systems, and how can they be improved? We also examine real-world case scenarios where stigmatizing notes have had lasting impacts on indiv...

Redemption stories in recovery are often more harmful than helpful. 

We’ve all absorbed the War on Drugs narrative—but even well-intended stories about substance use often reinforce stigma. In this episode, Meghann Perry and Dr. Dani Snyder-Young explore how internalized shame shapes personal and public storytelling, influencing care access and policy. They discuss research and applied storytelling techniques that shift the dominant...

 In San Antonio, HIV is treated with love, not judgment—and it’s working. 

We will discuss how stigma: 1) contributes to HIV acquisition, 2) prevents people living with HIV from seeking and remaining in care, and 3) effective, evidence-based strategies for mitigating stigma. We will explore effective ways to reach, support, and treat individuals who use substances, who are at a high risk for acquiring HIV and, once acquired, falling...

Addiction care in the ER isn’t just about patients—it’s about fixing medicine itself.

Emergency Department Bridge Programs allow ED physicians to connect patients in the ED with comprehensive addiction care. While the benefits of bridge programs for patients with opioid use disorder are known, what’s less understood is how these programs affect the lives of the providers themselves. For a paper published in Academic Emergency Medici...

Turns out, the most powerful tool against addiction stigma might just be someone society once gave up on.

Despite significant advancements in addiction treatment, stigma remains one of the greatest barriers to care for individuals struggling with substance use disorder (SUD). Among healthcare professionals, stigma can manifest in ways that impact patient outcomes, access to care, and overall recovery success. This episode...

We’ve been blaming Appalachia for a healthcare crisis it didn’t create. 

Addiction in Appalachia isn’t what you think. This episode unpacks the nuanced reality of substance use disorder in a region that’s been stereotyped, ignored, and misunderstood for too long. Through powerful stories and clear strategies, it reveals how healthcare professionals, community leaders, and people with lived experience are fighting against s...

We don’t have a drug crisis—we have a policy crisis. 

In episode one, Allyson Pinkhover, MPH, CPhT, CHO and Dr. Joe Wright explore some of the ways that urban planning, zoning, policing, and the location of addiction services combine to create or enforce a geography of containment. In Boston, Wright argues, land prices and the politics of what another scholar describes as “complaint-oriented policing” led to a smaller and smaller ar...

Episode 8 - Emerging Overdose Detection Technologies and Hotlines

Featuring:
Ju Park, PhD MHS
Assistant Professor of Medicine (Research)
Director of Harm Reduction Innovation Lab

Stephen Murray, MPH, NRP
Director, Massachusetts Overdose Prevention Helpline
Harm Reduction Program Manager, Boston Medical Center
 
Host:
Ricky N. Bluthenthal, PhD
Distinguished Professor of Populatio...

Episode 7: Innovative access to harm reduction support and linkage to treatment

Featuring:
Shelby Arena
Harm Reduction Manager, MATTERS

Joshua Lynch, DO, FACEP
Associate Professor of Emergency & Addiction Medicine, University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine; Chief Medical Officer, MATTERS
 
Host:
Shoshana V. Aronowitz, PhD, MSHP, FNP-BC
Assistant Professor, Department of Famil...

Episode 6: Putting Harm Reduction to the Test: Drug use, Pregnancy, and Parenting

Featuring:
Leah Warner, NP, MPH
Street Medicine San Francisco Department of Public Health

Simone Vais, MD
UCSF Department of Family and Community Medicine

Host:
Jamie Lang
New Beginnings Case Manager, Homeless Prenatal Program

Pregnancy and the postpartum period challenge our notions of harm redu...

Episode 5: Harm Reduction for Alcohol Use Disorder: Managed Alcohol Programs

Featuring:
Tanya Majumder, MD, MS 
Physician with the San Francisco Department of Public Health

Alice Moughamian, RN, CNS
Nurse Manager with the San Francisco Department of Public Health

Hosted by:
Soraya Azari, MD

In this episode, we present the San Francisco Department of Public Health’s Managed Alco...

Episode 4: Leveraging technology: Expanding Veteran access to harm reduction resources through vending machines 

Featuring:
Tessa Rife-Pennington, PharmD, BCGP
Harm Reduction Coordinator
Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner
San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System
Volunteer Clinical Assistant Professor
University of California, San Francisco, School of Pharmacy

Andrew "Andie" Ruggle...

Episode 3: Insights from the Front Line: Harm Reduction Interventions in an Urban Hospital

Featuring:
Sophie Zhai
B.A. Public Health - University of California, Berkeley
Patient Navigator, Addiction Care Team at UCSF

Patricia “Patty” Moreno
B.S. Global Disease Biology - University of California, Davis
Patient Navigator, Addiction Care Team at UCSF

Hosted by:
Amelia Goff, NP
Ass...

Episode 2: Harm Reduction in the Hospital: Meeting People Where They Are

Featuring:
Marlene Martin, MD
Associate Professor, University of California, San Francisco
Director of Addiction Care Team, San Francisco General Hospital
Director of Addiction Initiatives, Latinx Center of Excellence

Kimberly Sue, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine (General Internal Medicine), Yale School of Medicine

Hosted by:...

Episode 1: Test Your Drugs, Not Your Limits - The Role of Advanced Drug Checking in Harm Reduction

Featuring:
Allyson Pinkhover, MPH, CPhT, CHO
Brockton Neighborhood Health Center, Brockton, MA
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD

Darlene Andrade Fonseca, BS
Brockton Neighborhood Health Center, Brockton, MA
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Worces...

Listen now to a sneak peek at episode one from AMERSA's new podcast series Harm Reduction: Compassionate Care for People Who Use Drugs, called Test Your Drugs, Not Your Limits - The Role of Advanced Drug Checking in Harm Reduction

Featuring:
Allyson Pinkhover, MPH, CPhT, CHO
Brockton Neighborhood Health Center, Brockton, MA
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD

Darlene And...