Warm Hand-Off Programs - What are warm hand-off programs? ” off] is more than

In contrast, a warm hand-off is a transfer of care between service the provision of providers through face-to-face, phone or video interaction in the presence of the person being information or helped.2 Local stakeholders can design warm hand-off programs using the following steps: referrals – it is 1. [...] They then collaborate to locate points of contact with community members in need, build procedures for linkage to care and share resources across agencies to fill gaps in service.7 OVERDOSE FATALITY REVIEW (OFR): a practice of confidential individual death reviews by an interdisciplinary team of stakeholders and service providers. [...] By investigating what could have been done to prevent these and similar deaths, OFR participants break down silos across service agencies, identify gaps in services and find missed opportunities for intervention and linkage to care.8 What evidence supports the use of warm hand-off programs? Warm hand-offs improve the efficacy and efficiency of treatment referrals in several ways. [...] Warm hand- offs are associated with better treatment engagement9,10 and fewer medical errors during the transfer of care.11 A patient’s interest in continuing care is influenced by the quality of their relationships with service providers and the quality of the referral process they go through,12 both of which can be improved through warm hand-off strategies. [...] navigating health care systems and engaging in care.26 • I nclude people with lived and living experience of substance use in the planning, management and implementation of warm hand-off programs.34,35 • Fight stigma and misinformation by voicing strong, unambiguous support for medication as an evidence-based treatment for OUD.