New Way Now: The State of Arizona advances local opioid treatment access with Google AI

*Featured in this video:* Kate Dobler, State Opioid Treatment Authority (SOTA) at Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) *Executive summary:* The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), The state's Medicaid agency, partnered with Google Cloud and Google Cloud Partner Syntasa to enhance its Opioid Treatment Locator. AHCCCS added a generative AI assistant to the tool, helping residents find information about local Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) treatment tailored to their needs — whenever and wherever they choose to seek care. Powered by Vertex AI and Google Gemini, the solution enables users to ask questions in natural language and get back personalized answers about treatment options, programs, facilities, and healthcare plans, drawn from an AHCCCS-vetted database of specialized locations throughout Arizona. The solution also uses Google Translate to instantly understand queries in multiple languages and Google Maps to provide directions to nearby treatment options on any device. Already, the locator has been visited by more than 20,000 unique users from 120 communities across the state, recording over 100,000 unique page views and a more than 55% engaged session rate since its launch. *Challenge:* As Arizona’s Medicaid Agency, AHCCCS is tasked with supporting and providing OUD treatment options to a geographically-dispersed population, spread across both urban and rural communities. Recognizing that the key to combatting the opioid epidemic is ensuring individuals can find the right resources when they need them, AHCCCS wanted to connect both patients and providers with information about local OUD treatment options in real time, anywhere they are. *Solution:* Working with Google Cloud and Google Cloud Partner Syntasa, AHCCCS developed the Opioid Treatment Locator — a generative AI assistant that helps Arizonans find information about local care providers and other treatment options, wherever they are and whenever they choose to seek care