Tapering Strategies (2025-2026 Recording)

This session provides a focused review of tapering strategies across major substance classes, with particular emphasis on opioids and benzodiazepines, aligned with the ACAAM National Addiction Medicine Didactic Curriculum and ABPM content areas.

What This Covers

Pharmacologic principles of tolerance, dependence, and withdrawal
Guideline-based approaches to developing individualized tapering plans
Practical strategies for methadone and buprenorphine tapering, including dose adjustments and patient-centered decision making
Use of adjunctive medications to support tapering
Balancing safety, patient experience, and long-term treatment engagement

How This Resource Is Used

This session is designed for on-demand learning and targeted content review. It can be used to reinforce specific knowledge areas or as part of structured board preparation.

	Sarah G. Gonzalez, MD FASAM Dr. Gonzalez is Division Chief of Addiction Medicine at Kern Medical and an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. She is board certified in Emergency Medicine and specializes in addiction medicine. Her work focuses on delivering comprehensive, patient‑centered care across clinical settings, including community, correctional, and safety‑net populations.
	Alan Duvall, PharmD APh BCACP Dr. Duvall is a Clinical Pharmacist at Kern Medical and core faculty in the Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program. He also serves as Associate Program Director for the PGY‑2 Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Residency. His work focuses on medication management and the application of pharmacologic principles in addiction medicine across clinical care and training settings.
	Reeha K. Choi, PharmD Dr. Choi is a clinical pharmacist at Kern Medical and contributed to addiction medicine care and training at the time of this presentation. Her work focuses on the application of pharmacologic principles to support the management of substance use disorders and the development of individualized treatment strategies.

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Access Period
Access to this recording is available through June 30, 2027, in alignment with ACAAM’s annual academic cycle.

Recording Release Cycle
ACAAM releases updated recorded sessions each July based on the prior academic year’s didactic series. These recordings are available for a limited time and are retired on June 30 of the following year as new content is released.