10 Ohioans die every day from opioid overdose. ¹ The SOAR™ can help turn the tide.

Multiple 2018 government reports ^{( 1 , 2 )} , demonstrate Medicaid patients are especially vulnerable to negative outcomes if prescribed opioids. In order to best serve this at-risk population, we will work closely with the Ohio Association of Community Health Centers (OACHC), representing over 300 community-based clinics in medically-underserved areas. Embracing the SBIRT philosophy, providers can use the SOAR™ as a foundation for enhanced precision medicine, improving their prescribing and encouraging early intervention and referrals tailored to each patient. In a landscape of broad education and outreach regarding the opioid crisis, and alongside many new and ongoing efforts across the state, we believe the SOAR™ will not only improve prescribing practices and reduce social burden, but importantly, help to improve patient outcomes and to save lives.

The Ohio Association of Community Health Centers (OACHC) is a not-for-profit professional association representing Ohio's Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). They are a key organization, representing 51 Community Health Centers with over 300 sites in medically-underserved areas of Ohio, serving over 750,000 patients, over half of whom are on Medicaid. Our current effort is to implement the SOAR™ as a pilot program in several key community health centers. OACHC has committed to assist our team with this implementation and work with its membership to identify key health centers who may be interested. Dr. Ted Wymyslo, the Chief Medical Officer of OACHC, agrees that behavioral health risk assessments along with other screening tools for depression and anxiety are critical aspects in helping to solve the opioid epidemic.