Episode 4: Leveraging technology: Expanding Veteran access to harm reduction resources through vending machines 

Featuring:
Tessa Rife-Pennington, PharmD, BCGP
Harm Reduction Coordinator
Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner
San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System
Volunteer Clinical Assistant Professor
University of California, San Francisco, School of Pharmacy

Andrew "Andie" Ruggles (he/they), LCSW
San Francisco Veterans Affairs Downtown Clinic

Hosted by:
Beth Dinges, PharmD
Harm Reduction Coordinator
Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner
VA Illiana Healthcare System

Episode four introduces harm reduction vending machines (HRVMs)! HRVMs are an evidence based and successful strategy to address many barriers Veterans face when seeking harm reduction strategies, including syringe services programs, overdose education, and naloxone. Presenters Andie Ruggles and Tessa Rife-Pennington, from the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System Harm Reduction Program, discuss how and why their program chose to implement HRVMs, how the machines work to increase Veteran access to resources, key implementation strategies and lessons learned, opportunities to include multidisciplinary team members and learners, and ongoing future research.  

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Funding for this initiative was made possible by cooperative agreement no. 1H79TI086770 from SAMHSA. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

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