Prescriber Partnership for Safe Opioid Care: OPS Program for Better Outcomes to Enhance Clinical Decision-Making for Opioid Treatment
The Opioid Prescriber Support (OPS) Program is a federally authorized technical assistance (TA) initiative administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). It was established under Section 6052 of the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (SUPPORT Act, P.L. 115-271), enacted October 24, 2018.
The OPS program has three key priorities:
- Education & Outreach — Provide eligible prescribers with targeted education on best practices for opioid prescribing, including non-opioid and non-pharmacological pain management alternatives.
- Overdose Prevention — Reduce opioid-involved overdose risks by minimizing dangerous co-prescribing combinations, increasing access to overdose-reversing medications such as naloxone and improving access to evidence-based addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery support services, including utilization of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD).
- Reduction of Unnecessary Opioid Prescriptions— Achieve measurable reductions in opioid prescribing among identified eligible prescribers through individualized TA, Community of Practice events, clinical case podcasts, and prescriber feedback mechanisms, all while safeguarding patient safety and clinical integrity.
The program equips prescribers with evidence-based tools, real-time data insights, and individualized technical assistance (TA) to support informed, clinically appropriate opioid prescribing decisions. By integrating best practices in opioid stewardship, including multi-disciplinary, multi-modal pain management approaches and the use of non-opioid pharmacologic alternatives (ALTOs), prescribers are empowered to make safer, more effective treatment choices for their patients.
Improving patient outcomes requires a multifaceted approach that addresses prescribing practices, care coordination, and community engagement. Optimizing opioid prescribing practices is a foundational element of this effort. Through targeted outreach and prescriber-specific technical assistance (TA), the program works to reduce opioid-related harms while ensuring that patients receive high-quality, individualized pain care tailored to their unique needs.
Equally important is effective care coordination, which plays a central role in reducing fragmentation across opioid treatment and recovery services. The program supports prescribers in developing and implementing Opioid Safety Care Transition Plans, ensuring that patients are seamlessly connected to behavioral health services, addiction treatment, and community-based recovery support creating a more integrated and continuous care experience.
Finally, the program is committed to advancing healthier communities by reducing unnecessary opioid use through a community-centered approach to opioid stewardship. This involves actively engaging local health departments, community leaders, academic institutions, and key federal partners including the CDC, SAMHSA, HRSA, NIH, and VA to foster collaboration and drive meaningful, systemic changes at both the local and national levels.
The OPS program is positioned for continued execution and expansion through 2031. Key priorities during this period include the sustained engagement of prescribers through ongoing identification, recruitment, enrollment, and graduation processes, guided by Medicare Part D prescribing data and performance measures. The program will also expand its interventional strategies by delivering multi-disciplinary, multi-modal pain management education, promoting Alternatives to Opioids (ALTOs), and supporting non-pharmacological treatment modalities such as cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, and exercise-based interventions.
Additionally, the program will assist enrolled prescribers in designing and implementing Opioid Safety Care Transition Plans to minimize patient risk of opioid-related harms, while near real-time prescriber feedback mechanisms will be used to continuously improve program work products and technical assistance delivery. Patient, family, and caregiver engagement will remain a systematic priority, ensuring active partnership in quality improvement efforts.