News & Updates — FORE Announcements

FORE Board Chair Dr. Andrea Barthwell’s webinar focused on the need to identify new approaches and enhance and expand existing policies and programs proven to reduce opioid use disorder, addiction, and overdose.

The fast-evolving nature of the U.S. prescription opioid, heroin, and illicit fentanyl crisis can make it difficult to stay on top of timely issues and opportunities to make a greater impact. During the webinar, FORE Board Chair Dr. Andrea Barthwell, former President of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) and Deputy Director for Demand Reduction in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) under President George W. Bush, introduced the Foundation of Opioid Response Efforts (FORE). She provided a concise overview of the opioid crisis based on her thirty years of experience in addiction medicine and shared how FORE plans to take action to address this public health challenge.

Dr. Barthwell shared FORE’s mission: To convene and support partners advancing patient-centered, evidence-based solutions addressing the opioid crisis. She described FORE’s intention to inspire and advance activities to address this public health emergency. With patients at the center, FORE’s areas of focus include provider education, payer strategies, policy Initiatives, and public awareness. Dr. Barthwell also announced that FORE will be convening advisory meeting panels with leading experts and stakeholders to advise Foundation staff on what is currently being done and where the greatest needs are. The panels will heavily inform a Request for Proposal (RFP) that FORE will be releasing later in the year.

(Picture: FORE Board of Directors Chair Andrea Barthwell, M.D., DFASAM, with U.S. Congressman Hal Rogers (R-KY, 5th District) and Michael Barnes, Esq., Managing Partner and Founder of DCBA Law & Policy.)