Applying and advancing best practices in opioid use disorder and addiction treatment: Introduction to the special issue on implementation science and quality improvement scholarship.

To help realize the promise of evidence-based practices to stem the opioid crisis, there is a glaring need for descriptions of how practices are effectively disseminated and implemented. Unfortunately, addiction journals do not often publish addiction implementation science and non-research descriptions of quality improvement projects. This is unfortunate as these projects are more representative of how research is translated into practice in the real-world and offer guidance and practical information to help speed implementation of evidence-based practices. To support translation of research into practice, primary, secondary, and tertiary intervention implementation science and quality improvement projects should be disseminated. We are excited to again partner with the Providers' Clinical Support System for Opioid Therapies in presenting implementation and quality improvement demonstration projects in this special issue: "Implementation and Quality Improvement: Applying and Advancing Best Practices in Opioid Use Disorder and Addiction Treatment."