Meeting People Where They Are: How Mobile Clinics Support Overdose Prevention

Every life lost is one too many, especially when the death was preventable. In 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that approximately 80,000 people died from an overdose, representing a 27% decrease from 2023. While this marks the first decline in overdose deaths in years, overdose remains the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. The question remains, what more should we be doing? 

The Overdose Crisis: Progress and Persistent Gaps  

Public health leaders at the local, state, and federal levels have made historic investments to address the overdose crisis. These efforts include expanding naloxone distribution (a medication that rapidly reverses the effects of an opioid overdose), addressing workforce shortages, increasing access to evidence-based treatment, and strengthening prevention and education programs. Collectively, these strategies are saving lives. Yet despite this progress, people continue to overdose, and far too many still die. 

This reality raises a critical question for policymakers and system leaders: where are the gaps, and how can they be closed? 

Barriers to Overdose Prevention and Treatment 

Despite tremendous efforts to reduce overdose and expand access to care, system-level barriers continue to delay treatment and, in many cases, prevent engagement altogether, especially in rural and underserved communities.  

These barriers include: 

• Lack of reliable transportation: In rural areas, traveling two hours to a clinic can make the difference between attending an appointment or missing it entirely. 

• Long wait times for appointments: Some individuals face waits of more than 30 days before care begins, delaying critical interventions. 

• Limited diversity among providers: A lack of culturally responsive providers can reduce trust, discourage engagement, and limit the effectiveness of care. 

• Financial constraints: Out-of-pocket costs for treatment, medications, and supportive services can prevent individuals from seeking care. 

• Insurance coverage and eligibility limitations: Gaps in coverage or complex eligibility requirements create barriers to timely, consistent treatment. 

• Fragmented behavioral and physical health systems: Disconnected services make it difficult for individuals to navigate care, leading to missed opportunities for prevention and treatment. 

 People who decide to seek treatment often change their mind while waiting for the first available appointment or inpatient bed. That's why treatment must be easy to access during this crucial window of willingness. When treatment isn't readily available, the risk of continued drug use and overdose increases. 

Why Traditional Models Fall Short  

Traditional office-based models, while well established and critical, are limited to whom they can reach. Many individuals at the highest risk of overdose also experience mental health challenges, housing instability, financial stress, stigma, and trauma, all of which make seeking care at a traditional health care facility more difficult. Addressing overdose effectively requires approaches that account for these realities. 

Mobile Health Clinics: A Community-Based Solution 

Mobile health clinics offer a practical solution to many of the challenges that limit overdose prevention efforts in traditional office-based settings. By delivering services directly into communities, mobile clinics: 

• provide low-barrier, same-day access to care, 

• reduce transportation and scheduling obstacles, 

• reach individuals not connected to traditional health systems, and 

• integrate prevention, treatment, and education in one setting. 

By taking care where the people are, mobile clinics close the gap between risk and response, ensuring that lifesaving interventions are available when they are most needed. Mobile models are particularly effective in rural and underserved communities. Mobile health clinics are a flexible, evidence-informed tool that can strengthen existing overdose prevention infrastructure. When integrated with public health systems, Medicaid programs, and community-based services, mobile clinics expand reach, improve equity, and enhance continuity of care. 

How Public Health Leaders Can Drive Change 

State and local leaders can advance overdose prevention in their communities by: 

• Investing in mobile health clinic infrastructure as a core strategy for overdose prevention, including harm reduction, and improved access to behavioral health services 

• Using local overdose data to deploy mobile services in areas with the greatest needs. 

Mobile health clinics are not a replacement for traditional care. They are a critical extension of it. By reducing barriers and delivering timely, evidence-based services, mobile clinics help close persistent gaps in overdose prevention and save lives. 

Meeting people where they are is not just a best practice; it is our responsibility. 

Patsy Cunningham, LCPC
Sr. Program Director, Behavioral Health,
Mission Mobile Medical

Learn More About Mobile Solutions for Substance Use:

Mobile health clinics play an important role in expanding access to overdose prevention, harm reduction, and behavioral health services, especially in rural and underserved communities.

If you’re interested in learning more, explore these resources:

• Mobile behavioral health and opioid use disorder programs 

https://www.missionmobilemed.com/behavioral-health-networked-satellite-clinics

• Mobile clinics designed for behavioral health and substance use disorder care 

https://www.missionmobilemed.com/behavioral-health

• How mobile clinics help address opioid addiction 

https://www.missionmobilemed.com/en/blog/mobileclinicsapowerfultooltoaddressopioidaddiction

• How mobile clinics support behavioral health services 

https://www.missionmobilemed.com/en/blog/mobile-clinics-and-how-they-address-behavioral-health

• Mission Mobile Medical YouTube channel 

https://www.youtube.com/@missionmobilemedical