J Psychosoc Nurs Men
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The United States is facing a major crisis with the current opioid epidemic. Tens of thousands of individuals are dying each year due to abuse and misuse of heroin and prescription opiate drugs. ⋯ Nurses provide education, issue prescriptions and dispense medications, and provide overall physical and mental health care to patients struggling with this "disease of the brain," and with the signing of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, advanced practice RNs will soon be able to include MATs related to buprenorphine as part of their treatment plan. The current article explores the anatomy, physiology, and genetics of addiction and how they relate to the pharmacological MATs used to treat opioid use disorders. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 55(1), 18-23.].