Faster Paths is BMC’s substance use disorder bridge clinic. We provide rapid, low-barrier access to medications for opioid use disorder and other substance use disorders; withdrawal management; overdose prevention; HIV and STI screening, prevention, and treatment; harm reduction services; and other clinical care to improve the lives of people who use substances. Patients are seen on a scheduled and walk-in basis and referred to ongoing care after stabilization.



  ### Faster Paths to Treatment

- [Contact Us](#contact-us)
- [Conditions We Treat](#conditions-we-treat)
- [Treatments & Services](#treatments-services)
- [Our Team](#our-team)
- [Department News](#department-news)
- [Research Overview](#research-overview)
- [Residency and Fellowship Information](#residency-and-fellowship-information)
 
   ## Contact Us

 [617.414.4580](tel:617.414.4580) 

8:30 AM - 4:30 PM, 7-days a week

 

 

 



 

  ## Conditions We Treat

- [Substance Use Disorders](/content/substance-use-disorders)
 
 

 



  ## Treatments & Services

- Referral to addiction treatment
- Assessment for medication for addiction treatment, including prescriptions for induction and stabilization on buprenorphine/naloxone (Suboxone), buprenorphine extended-release injection (Sublocade), naltrexone pills or injection (Vivitrol) for blocking cravings, and under certain circumstances 72-hours of methadone dosing in our methadone clinic
- HIV prevention and treatment resources and medication
- Opioid overdose education including naloxone (Narcan) rescue kits
- Access to BMC case management, which can help with overcoming common barriers to health care, including transportation and acquiring a Massachusetts Identification Card
- Access to a BMC primary care doctor
- Access to community-based support services from the recovery specialists from Rapid ACCESS program



  ## Our Team

 

 ###  [Jessica L. Taylor, MD](https://www.bmc.org/about-us/directory/doctor/jessica-l-taylor-md) 

 Internal Medicine Physician; Director of Faster Paths 


 

    ![](https://assets.bmc.org/transform/16709f20-894f-4153-b9cf-eefd8728f04e/Jessica-Taylor?io=transform:fill,width:333,height:500&format=jpg)   ###  [Ricardo Cruz, MD](https://www.bmc.org/about-us/directory/doctor/ricardo-cruz-md) 

 Primary Care Physician 

 

    ![](https://assets.bmc.org/transform/1ad193a9-08e5-4213-86d1-12dada4418b4/Ricardo-Cruz?io=transform:fill,width:333,height:500&format=jpg)   ###  [Joanna L. D'Afflitti, MD, MPH](https://www.bmc.org/about-us/directory/doctor/joanna-l-dafflitti-md) 

 Primary Care Physician 


 

    ![](https://assets.bmc.org/transform/3654758f-af67-4d5d-b249-b5ce7e5c2e6a/D-Afflitti-Joanna?io=transform:fill,width:333,height:500&format=jpg)   ###  [Kara Dillon, MD](https://www.bmc.org/about-us/directory/doctor/kara-dillon-md) 

 Primary Care Physician and Addiction Specialist 


 

   ![Placeholder image for doctor](/themes/custom/bmc_base_theme/assets/images/placeholders/headshoticon-v2.svg)  ###  [Natalija M Farrell, PharmD](https://www.bmc.org/about-us/directory/doctor/natalija-m-farrell-pharmd) 

 


 

    ![](https://assets.bmc.org/transform/aefe223c-391c-4d0a-97ed-de2b989d4036/Natalija-Farrell-Square?io=transform:fill,width:333,height:500&format=jpg)   ###  [Theresa W Kim, MD](https://www.bmc.org/about-us/directory/doctor/theresa-w-kim-md) 

 Primary Care Physician 


 

    ![](https://assets.bmc.org/transform/b75daf26-bc7c-4f70-967a-60087e423707/Theresa-Kim_472_2x3?io=transform:fill,width:333,height:500&format=jpg)   ###  [Miriam S. Komaromy, MD](https://www.bmc.org/about-us/directory/doctor/miriam-s-komaromy-md) 

 Executive Director, Grayken Center for Addiction 

 

    ![](https://assets.bmc.org/transform/1a5e4562-bae2-4ea0-aeb2-4e1b68389d5e/Miriam-Komaromy-2x3?io=transform:fill,width:333,height:500&format=jpg)   ###  [Jordana Laks, MD, MPH](https://www.bmc.org/about-us/directory/doctor/jordana-laks-md-mph) 

 Attending Primary Care Physician; Addiction Specialist 


 

    ![](https://assets.bmc.org/transform/47070ca3-25d8-433b-a148-2f9327fd8dcc/JLaks-head-shot-copy?io=transform:fill,width:333,height:500&format=jpg)   ###  [Sandra S. Looby-Gordon, MD](https://www.bmc.org/about-us/directory/doctor/sandra-s-looby-gordon-md) 

 Physician 

 

    ![OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA](https://assets.bmc.org/transform/dcbbfce4-1639-4e09-82d7-7a98f75e6e91/Looby-Gordon-Sandra?io=transform:fill,width:333,height:500&format=jpg)   ###  [Vasudev C Mandyam, MD](https://www.bmc.org/about-us/directory/doctor/vasudev-c-mandyam-md) 

 

 

   ![Placeholder image for doctor](/themes/custom/bmc_base_theme/assets/images/placeholders/headshoticon-v2.svg)  ###  [Alyssa F Peterkin, MD](https://www.bmc.org/about-us/directory/doctor/alyssa-f-peterkin-md) 

 Hospitalist 

 

    ![](https://assets.bmc.org/transform/3e4bec72-5abc-444f-91ce-b97e23a914d7/Alyssa-Peterkin?io=transform:fill,width:333,height:500&format=jpg)   ###  [Emily Regier, MD](https://www.bmc.org/about-us/directory/doctor/emily-regier-md) 

 

 

    ![](https://assets.bmc.org/transform/0d8d87c7-6909-48cc-80d9-ba80ef372f36/Emily-Regier_699_2x3?io=transform:fill,width:333,height:500&format=jpg)   ###  [Karrin Weisenthal, MD](#) 

 Medical Director, ED Addiction Consult Team; Associate Medical Director, Faster Paths 

 ![weisenthal](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Weisenthal_photo.jpg?itok=rBMCSzw2) 

  ### More About Me

  ![weisenthal](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Weisenthal_photo.jpg?itok=rBMCSzw2)#### Karrin Weisenthal, MD

 Medical Director, ED Addiction Consult Team; Associate Medical Director, Faster Paths

 

 

 
 

 Karri Weisenthal, M.D./M.H.S. is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, the Medical Director for the ED-Addiction Consult Team, and the Associate Medical Director of Faster Paths to Treatment, Boston Medical Center's low-barrier addiction bridge clinic. She graduated cum laude from the Yale School of Medicine and completed her residency training in Emergency Medicine and Addiction Medicine fellowship at Boston Medical Center. Dr. Weisenthal is an active researcher in the fields of Emergency and Addiction Medicine. Her areas of interest include program implementation to improve initiation and access to evidence-based medications for substance use disorder in the Emergency Department, ensuring smooth transitions of care from the emergency to outpatient settings, and integrating a harm reduction and trauma-informed approach into Emergency Department patient care.



 

 



 Close Dialog 

 

 

 



 

  ## Department News

###  [Bridge Clinic Model for Methadone Initiation Leads to High Linkage and Retention in Opioid Treatment](https://www.bmc.org/news/bridge-clinic-model-methadone-initiation-leads-high-linkage-and-retention-opioid-treatment) 

 BOSTON – According to a new study from Boston Medical Center’s Grayken Center for Addiction, methadone administration for opioid withdrawal with direct opioid treatment program admission under the …

 May 24

 

 ![Dr. Jessica Taylor](/sites/default/files/styles/image_620w/public/news-images/jtaylor_0.jpg?itok=LhEjxiOM)

 

 



  ## Research Overview

[**Partnering With State Health Departments to Address Injection-Related Infections During the Opioid Epidemic: Experience at a Safety Net Hospital**](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34409120/) - Burns RH, Pierre CM, Marathe JG, et al. . Open Forum Infect Dis. 2021;8(8):ofab208. Published 2021 Apr 27.

[**Integrating Harm Reduction into Outpatient Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Settings : Harm Reduction in Outpatient Addiction Treatment**](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34159545/) - Taylor JL, Johnson S, Cruz R, Gray JR, Schiff D, Bagley SM. \[published online ahead of print, 2021 Jun 22\]. *J Gen Intern Med*. 2021;1-10. doi:10.1007/s11606-021-06904-4

[**A collision of crises: Addressing an HIV outbreak among people who inject drugs in the midst of COVID-19.**](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33771280/) - Taylor JL, Ruiz-Mercado G, Sperring H, Bazzi AR. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2021;124:108280. doi:10.1016/j.jsat.2021.108280

[**Low Barrier Tele-Buprenorphine in the Time of COVID-19: A Case Report.**](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32433364/) - Harris M, Johnson S, Mackin S, Saitz R, Walley AY, Taylor JL. J Addict Med. 2020;14(4):e136-e138. doi:10.1097/ADM.0000000000000682

[**Stuck in the window with you: HIV exposure prophylaxis in the highest risk people who inject drugs** ](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31644387/)**-** Taylor JL, Walley AY, Bazzi AR. : . Subst Abus. 2019;40(4):441-443. doi:10.1080/08897077.2019.1675118



  ## Residency and Fellowship Information

##### Addiction Medicine Fellowship

The mission of the Grayken Fellowship in Addiction Medicine is to train physician addiction medicine leaders in clinical care, research, education, public health, and advocacy to improve addiction care for people vulnerable to health inequities due to race, ethnicity, gender, poverty, age, disability or stigmatizing illness.

The Grayken Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program is a 1 or 2 year fellowship. There is also a 3-year combined Infectious Disease-Addiction Medicine Fellowship and a 2-year Fellowship in Maternal Health Addiction. Fellows are mentored by our multidisciplinary faculty from Internal Medicine, Infectious Disease, Emergency Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology and Addiction Psychiatry. The Grayken Fellowship in Addiction Medicine is accredited by the ACGME. [**Click here to learn more**](https://www.bumc.bu.edu/care/education-and-training-programs/care-program-fellowship-in-addiction-medicine/)