Listening and Learning: Supporting Patients as an Opioid Safety Coordinator

Hi there! My name is Samantha Hum (she/her), and I serve as an Opioid Safety Coordinator with the Value-Based-Care Team at the San Francisco Department of Public Health. I was born and raised in San Francisco, went to school in Davis, CA, and lived in Taiwan for a year before moving back to San Francisco for my service with NHC! I plan to stay in the city before going to law school in the future. 

My role as an Opioid Safety Coordinator currently focuses on three central responsibilities: Contingency Management (CM), Patient Navigation, and Patient Experience Interviews. I divide these responsibilities mainly among three clinics: Maria X Martinez Health Resource Center, Tom Waddell Urban Health Center, and Potrero Hill Health Center. Because many of San Francisco’s policies are focused on harm reduction, much of my service is guided by these principles. This means meeting people where they are, without judgment, and providing folks with resources and tools to reduce risks of overdose or chronic illnesses resulting from their use. 

I help facilitate three CM programs at two clinics, each with a unique implementation while utilizing incentives to promote positive behavioral change. For example, the programs I assist offer gift cards as rewards for achieving goals like consistent attendance, adherence to medication, or non-reactive urine tests. CM has been proven to reduce drug use and improve mental health outcomes. Beyond clinical benefits, these interventions can also offer participants a community and a safe social space they might otherwise lack.

Patient Navigation prompts care that is more individualized. As the name suggests, I reach out to people to make navigating the complex healthcare system more accessible– this includes connecting them to their providers for various concerns, providing reminders for appointments, discussing what aspects of their care are working and where improvements can be made, and overall ensuring that there is a familiar, consistent point of contact for whom folks can feel comfortable talking to about their care.

Lastly, I schedule, conduct, and transcribe interviews as part of a study that gives patients space to share their experiences with controlled medications for pain or anxiety and their perspectives on the care they receive. One patient, for example, shared how the stigma surrounding the use of prescribed opioids may affect her ability to access appropriate care, including adjustments to her dosage. She emphasized that physicians need to place greater trust in their patients, noting that a lack of trust often results in barriers to receiving the individualized treatment they need. These interviews, centered on amplifying patient voices, will hopefully be a tool for the SF Health Network to refine its approach to controlled prescriptions and ensure care is both empathetic and effective.

Although they seem fairly siloed, together, these roles work in tandem to provide a net of support. I am still learning so much more about the different ways these responsibilities inform each other. However, it is clear that each approach is a unique way to help patients stay connected to care and feel valued in a system where it is easy to feel overlooked. While I cannot provide solutions such as professional medical advice or counseling, I’ve learned that one of the most meaningful contributions someone can make is consistently checking in with folks, creating space for them to share their experiences, and ensuring their voices are heard and acknowledged.

Growing up in San Francisco, I have always felt a deep connection to the city I call home. Serving people with whom I share this connection has thus far been extremely meaningful. I feel grateful to learn from so many different minds, hear a multitude of perspectives, and gain a broader understanding of the opioid crisis and our healthcare system– the effects of both the fragmented system as well as the compassionate care and genuine connection that can emerge within it.