By Amy Rosenstein, Assistant Vice President of Operations, Mass Behavioral Health Partnership
The Massachusetts Consultation Service for Treatment of Addiction and Pain (MCSTAP) offers phone consultations to primary care providers on safe prescribing as well as managing care for adults with chronic pain and/or substance use disorder (SUD). MCSTAP also provides referral information about
community-based providers and services to support patients with these conditions.
MCSTAP provides expertise and information on a wide range of topics, including medication management related to medication-assisted treatment, opioids, and non-opioid pain medications; pain management strategies, including non-pharmaceutical treatment of pain; and community-based resources for people living with chronic pain and/or SUD.
The Grayken Center for Addiction at Boston Medical Center provides medical leadership for MCSTAP. MCSTAP’s physician consultants, who practice in health systems across Massachusetts, have extensive academic and clinical expertise in safe prescribing and management of patients with chronic pain and/or SUD.
“MCSTAP is like having a trusted colleague who not only understands where you are coming from and what you are facing, but also has experience and knows how to help you right there on the spot — just when you need it most,” said MCSTAP Medical Director Christopher Shanahan, MD, MPH, FACP.
MCSTAP’s services are free to Massachusetts providers. The service supports the care of all adults with chronic pain and/or SUD, regardless of insurance coverage. MCSTAP is funded by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services.
For a consult, call 1-833-PAIN-SUD (1-833-724-6783), Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. For more information, visit mcstap.com.
