Most individuals with opiate and alcohol-use disorders (OAUD) do not receive treatment. Primary care is an ideal setting in which to deliver OAUD treatment, yet evidence-based OAUD treatment is rarely provided. Barriers to delivery include insufficient organizational support and lack of provider role models and clinical support. We propose to evaluate the effectiveness of two strategies for increasing use of evidence-based treatment for OAUD within primary care: integrated collaborative care (ICC) and education and resources (E&R). While both strategies provide primary care practices with the same clinical information, ICC addresses these barriers by including organizational and technical support for delivering evidence-based care. ICC is grounded in the chronic care model and includes a behavioral health provider working as part of the care team. Essential elements of ICC strategy include a decision support component to help providers with complex patients, and a restructuring of the delivery and clinical information systems to support the delivery of evidence-based care. Our approach to implementing ICC is based on the organizational transformation model and quality improvement. We define the E&R strategy as providing printed educational materials and access to resources along with provider education. Both strategies are designed to increase the delivery of two evidence-based practices: motivational enhancement therapy and medication assisted therapy. We propose a 5-year mixed methods study and will conduct a RCT, with randomization occurring at the level of the care team and patient. We partner with 5 Venice Family Clinic (VFC) clinics, two hospitals in LA County, and COPE Health Solutions. VFC is a large federally qualified health center (FQHC) and the largest free clinic in the United States. Our approach includes document review, focus groups, interviews, and surveys for obtaining data on the adoption process and implementation outcomes; analysis of patient records and patient surveys on service system and patient outcomes; and analysis of provider financial records and patient records and surveys for estimating costs. We will enroll 400 patients with an OAUD diagnosis and follow them at 3 and 12 months.
Our specific aims are: 1) To measure the process and extent of ICC and E&R implementation; 2) To test the effectiveness of ICC compared to an E&R strategy in promoting A. Implementation outcomes B. Service system outcomes and C. Patient outcomes; and 3) To estimate provider costs for each strategy. We define implementation outcomes as measures of the acceptability, adoption, appropriateness, feasibility, and sustainability of evidence-based OAUD treatment. We define service system outcomes as 1) process measures of treatment quality and 2) treatment co-morbidities. We define patient outcomes as hospital readmissions, OAUD outcomes, patient functioning, negative consequences from substance use, and unmet need. We define cost outcomes as start-up costs, operating costs and medical/psychiatric cost offsets.

Public Health Relevance

Primary care settings (PCS) are a missed opportunity for delivering evidence-based treatments for opiate and alcohol-use disorders (OAUD). We propose to evaluate the costs and effectiveness of two strategies to increase the delivery of OAUD treatments in PCS, integrated collaborative care and education and resources. Results from our study will help providers choose between two different strategies and advance the field of implementation research.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
4R01DA034266-05
Application #
9094536
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZDA1)
Program Officer
Wiley, Tisha R A
Project Start
2012-07-01
Project End
2017-06-30
Budget Start
2016-07-01
Budget End
2017-06-30
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2016
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Rand Corporation
Department
Type
DUNS #
006914071
City
Santa Monica
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
90401
Watkins, Katherine E; Ober, Allison; McCullough, Colleen et al. (2018) Predictors of treatment initiation for alcohol use disorders in primary care. Drug Alcohol Depend 191:56-62
Osilla, Karen Chan; Watkins, Katherine E; D'Amico, Elizabeth J et al. (2018) Effects of motivational interviewing fidelity on substance use treatment engagement in primary care. J Subst Abuse Treat 87:64-69
Setodji, Claude M; Watkins, Katherine E; Hunter, Sarah B et al. (2018) Initiation and engagement as mechanisms for change caused by collaborative care in opioid and alcohol use disorders. Drug Alcohol Depend 192:67-73
Hunter, Sarah B; Ober, Allison J; McCullough, Colleen M et al. (2018) Sustaining alcohol and opioid use disorder treatment in primary care: a mixed methods study. Implement Sci 13:83
Ober, Allison J; Watkins, Katherine E; McCullough, Colleen M et al. (2018) Patient predictors of substance use disorder treatment initiation in primary care. J Subst Abuse Treat 90:64-72
Iyiewuare, Praise O; McCullough, Colleen; Ober, Allison et al. (2017) Demographic and Mental Health Characteristics of Individuals Who Present to Community Health Clinics With Substance Misuse. Health Serv Res Manag Epidemiol 4:2333392817734523
Watkins, Katherine E; Ober, Allison J; Lamp, Karen et al. (2017) Collaborative Care for Opioid and Alcohol Use Disorders in Primary Care: The SUMMIT Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Intern Med 177:1480-1488
Storholm, Erik D; Ober, Allison J; Hunter, Sarah B et al. (2017) Barriers to integrating the continuum of care for opioid and alcohol use disorders in primary care: A qualitative longitudinal study. J Subst Abuse Treat 83:45-54
Kulesza, Magdalena; Watkins, Katherine E; Ober, Allison J et al. (2017) Internalized stigma as an independent risk factor for substance use problems among primary care patients: Rationale and preliminary support. Drug Alcohol Depend 180:52-55
Ober, Allison J; Watkins, Katherine E; Hunter, Sarah B et al. (2017) Assessing and improving organizational readiness to implement substance use disorder treatment in primary care: findings from the SUMMIT study. BMC Fam Pract 18:107

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