Rural Expansion of Medication Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder

NIDA Clinical Trials Network (NIH HEAL Initiative), CTN-0102

6/1/19 – 2/29/24

Yih-Ing Hser, PhD (University of California, Los Angeles, Lead Investigator); Larissa Mooney (University of California, Los Angeles, Co-Lead Investigator)

Andrew Saxon, MD (University of Washington, Co-Investigator), Todd Korthuis, MD (OHSU, Co-Investigator), Megan Curtis, PhD (UCLA, Project Manager), Yanping Liu, MD, PhD (NIDA, Protocol Officer), Dikla Blumberg, PhD (Emmes, Protocol Specialist), Paul Van Veldhuisen, PhD (Emmes), Maria Hanano (UCLA), Lisa Marsch (Dartmouth), Bethany McLeman (Dartmouth College)

This cluster-randomized clinical trial with two phases will test expanded treatment access to improve retention on medication treatment for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in highly impacted rural areas. Phase 1 will include implementing telemedicine in a limited number of rural sites with varying levels of OBOT to inform implementation strategies for the main trial and Phase II will include evaluate comparative effectiveness between office-base opioid treatment (OBOT) vs OBOT + telemedicine (TM) in 30 sites.

The dramatic increases in opioid overdose deaths across the nation, particularly in rural areas call for a rapid expansion of access to medication treatment for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in order to effectively address this public health crisis. While office-based opioid treatment (OBOT) is the current standard for MOUD, uptake of OBOT in rural areas has been slow. There is a need to study effective ways to expand treatment access and improve retention on MOUD in highly impacted rural areas.