Substance Use Disorder Treatment in Jails and Prisons Course
Created: June 2026
Online Course
Overview
This 2-hour self-paced online course provides a foundational understanding of evidence-based substance use disorder (SUD) care in correctional settings. Learners will examine the prevalence and impact of SUD among incarcerated populations and develop practical skills in screening, assessment, and safe withdrawal management for opioid and alcohol use disorders. The course emphasizes the use of medications and behavioral interventions to support ongoing treatment, continuity of care, and overdose prevention. Modules address stigma, patient-centered treatment planning, and multidisciplinary collaboration, along with practical challenges related to facility culture, discharge planning, reentry coordination, and collaboration with courts and community providers across the correctional timeline.
The target audience for this introductory course is physicians, nurses, NPs, PAs, social workers, counselors and correctional care providers involved in or interested in the identification, treatment, and coordination of care for individuals with SUD in jails and prisons.
This activity addresses the following ACGME Competencies: Values/Ethics for Interprofessional Practice, Roles/Responsibilities, Teams & Teamwork, Patient-centered Care, Medical Knowledge, Practice-based Learning and Improvement, and Systems-based Practices.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion, learners will be able to:
Describe the prevalence and impact of substance use disorders (SUD) among individuals in jails and prisons.
Identify acute substance withdrawal, including appropriate assessment tools, key clinical risks, and treatment approaches in jails and prisons.
Apply evidence-based strategies for screening, assessment, and treatment of SUD in jails and prisons.
Examine the impact of stigma on individuals with SUD and incorporate patient-centered approaches that support engagement in care.
Identify strategies to support continuity of care during incarceration and reentry, including overdose prevention and linkage to community-based treatment.
Acknowledgment
This content has been made available in part by an unrestricted educational grant from Braeburn. No input or influence from Braeburn was included in the development of the educational content. As an ACCME Provider, ASAM follows the ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence for Accredited Continuing Education stating that owners and employees of ineligible companies are excluded from participating as planners or faculty and must not be allowed to influence or control any aspect of the planning, delivery, or evaluation of accredited continuing education.
Registration Rates
ASAM Learner Type
Rate
ASAM Member
$0
Non-Member
$0
Associate Member
$0
Resident Member*
$0
Student Member*
$0
*Residents, Fellows-in-training, Interns, and Students must join ASAM to receive a discounted registration rate.Click here to become an ASAM member. National and Chapter membership dues apply. There is no charge for Students to become a Member, but verification of student status is required.
Membership Question? Call ASAM at 1.301.656.3920, email us, or view the ASAM website for more information.
Refunds & Cancellations
All ASAM e-Learning Center refund requests must be made in writing to Education@ASAM.org within 90 days of purchase. Those requesting refunds for courses that are in progress will receive partial refunds or e-Learning Center credit.
Automatic full refunds will be made for any course with a live-course component that has been cancelled.
Open Registration: 6/29/2026 - 5/29/2029
Close Access Date: 6/29/2029
Instructions
Click on the Contents tab to begin this activity.
Click Complete Post Test to answer multiple choice questions. You will have 10 attempts to pass and must answer 8 out of 11 questions correctly.
Click Complete Evaluation and Complete Presenter Evaluation to provide valuable activity feedback. Scroll down on all questions as there may be answer options that expand past the size of the window.
Click the button Claim Medical Credits in the box titled Claim Credits & Certificate. Choose the type of credit and click submit. Click the button View/Print Certificate to save or print your certificate. You can view/print your certificate at any time by visiting the ASAM e-Learning Center, clicking Dashboard, and clicking Transcript/Achievements.
Need Assistance?
For assistance logging in, accessing activities, claiming credit, or for other questions or concerns, please check the FAQ page or e-mail Education@ASAM.org
ASAM is proud to offer eSSENTIAL Accessibility to ensure our website is accessible and functional for all our learners while providing free assistive technology for people with the widest possible range of abilities.
Justin Berk, MD, MPH, MBA
Assistant Professor
Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University
Justin Berk, MD MPH MBA is an addiction medicine phyiscian-researcher and the former Medical Director of the Rhode Island Department of Corrections. He is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics at the Alpert Medical School at Brown University. He received his undergraduate degree and Masters in Public Health at Yale University and his MD and MBA degree at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. He completed residency at the Urban Health Combined Internal Medicine – Pediatrics Residency Program at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Addiction Medicine. His research and advocacy focus on the intersection of addiction medicine, correctional health, and health equity.
No relevant financial disclosures.
Radha Sadacharan
MD, MPH
Dr. Radha Sadacharan is the Health Services Advisor for the Idaho Department of Correction and a program consultant with Amend at UCSF. She is a board‑certified family medicine physician with a specific interest in developing and implementing healthcare quality measures to improve outcomes for incarcerated patients. She also serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Washington.
No relevant financial disclosures.
Joseph “Seffy” Muller
MD
Dr. Muller received his medical degree from Case Western Reserve and trained in internal medicine and pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital. After fellowship in addiction medicine at Johns Hopkins, he joined a federally qualified health center in Washington DC, where he is currently the director of addiction medicine. He provides primary care and addiction care in the community and in correctional settings. He is a board member of the Maryland-DC Society of Addiction Medicine chapter. He previously worked at SAMHSA as a senior physician advisor focusing on addiction treatment in the criminal justice system.
In support of improving patient care, the American Society of Addiction Medicine 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.
Credits Available
Physicians: 2 Credits
Nurses & NPs: 2 Nursing Contact Hours
PAs: 2 Credits
Interprofessional Continuing Education: 2 Credits
Certified Counselors: 2 NBCC Contact Hours American Society of Addiction Medicine has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7062. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. American Society of Addiction Medicine is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
NAADAC: 2 CE Credits
Maintenance of Certification (MOC)/Continuing Certification Program (CCP)
This activity is designed to meet the requirements for MOC/CCP for several primary physician boards and for state licensing CME requirements. MOC Credit is only reported and designated for ABA, ABP, ABIM, and ABS. By completing the online credit application and evaluation, the learner permits ASAM to report credits to the appropriate Board. Learn more.
ABIM MOC Points: 2 Medical Knowledge
ABP MOC: 2 Lifelong Learning & Self-Assessment
ABS Continuing Certification: 2 Accredited CME
ABA MOCA 2.0®*: 2 Lifelong Learning MOCA 2.0® is a trademark of the American board of Anesthesiology®. This activity contributes to the CME requirement for Part II: Lifelong Learning and Self-Assessment of the American board of Anesthesiology's (ABA) redesigned Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology Program® (MOCA®), known as MOCA 2.0®. Please consult the ABA website, https://www.theaba.org/, for a list of all MOCA 2.0 requirements.
Additionally, this activity has been designed to satisfy the requirements of the following primary physician board certification requirements. Please confirm with your individual Board.
American Board of Addiction Medicine (ABAM)
American Board of Preventative Medicine (ABPM)
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN)
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC)
Certificates for other professions
All participants may request a certificate of participation upon completion of the activity and an online evaluation confirming their participation. Learners are strongly advised to contact their professional licensing board or professional association to confirm this certificate will be accepted as evidence supporting continuing education requirements.
California Association for Drug/Alcohol Educators (CAADE)
This educational program is approved by CAADE: #CP40 999 1225.
California Association of DUI Treatment Centers (CADTP)
This educational program is approved by CADTP: #205.
California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals (CCAPP)
This educational program is approved by CCAPP: #OS-20-330-0227.
Disclosure Information
In accordance with the disclosure policies of ASAM and Joint Accreditation, the effort is made to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all accredited continuing education activities. These policies include identifying and mitigating all relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies for those involved in the creation and dissemination of accredited continuing education.
The complete list of disclosures and designation statements are linked below.
Up to 2.00 medical credits available | Certificate available
Up to 2.00 medical credits available | Certificate available
Attendees should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in this activity.
Complete
Next
Failed
Available
Locked