Funding Source
NIDA Clinical Trials Network, CTN-0116
Project Period
11/1/20 – 02/2024
Principal Investigator
Lisa A. Marsch, PhD (Northeast Node, Center for Technology and Behavioral Health, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth)
Other Project Staff
Co-Lead Investigators: Felicity Homsted, PharmD, MBA; Northeast Node; David Fiellin, MD, New England Consortium.
Advisors/Consultants/Co-Investigators/Project Team: Paul Joudrey, MD, MPH, New England Consortium; Noah Nesin, MD, Penobscot Community Health Care (PCHC); Trip Gardner, MD, PCHC; Kristopher Ravin, PharmD, PCHC; Vijay Amarendran, MD, PCHC; Frank McGrady, PharmD, BCPS, PCHC; Melissa Carr, RPh, PCHC; Alison Carter, PCHC; Sharyl White, BA, MCP, PCHC; Dustin Corey, PCHC; Robert Zavaleta, PCHC; Lisa Saldana, PhD, Oregon Social Learning Center; Sarah Moore, PhD, Northeast Node.
NIDA CCTN Liaison: Udi Ghitza, PhD.
Research/Administrative Leadership: Bethany McLeman, BA, Project Director, Northeast Node; Phoebe Gauthier, MA, MPH, Project Co-Director, Northeast Node; Laurie Lester, PhD, Project Manager, Northeast Node; Jesse Boggis, MPH, Research Assistant, Northeast Node; Tess Gallant, BA, PhD Candidate, Northeast Node.
Participating Sites: Harbor Care Health, Nashua, NH (Susan Vonderheide, PhD, PI); Sugar House Health Care, Salt Lake City, UT (Nicholas Cox, PharmD, PI); Community Health Care, Tacoma, WA (Julia Keller, MA, LMHC, PI); Truman Health Services, Albuquerque, NM (Michelle Iandiorio, MD, PI).
Project Summary
Pharmacists remain an underutilized resource in the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD). Although studies have engaged pharmacists in dispensing medications in OUD treatment (MOUD), few studies have evaluated collaborative care models in which pharmacists are an active, integral part of a primary care team offering OUD care. In this Phase 1 project, we seek to leverage a promising model of pharmacist-integrated care for OUD to 1) employ a mixed methods approach to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of implementing a pharmacist-integrated model of MOUD into the clinical workflow of a diverse array of clinical sites and 2) evaluate the impact of the pharmacist-integrated model on the clinical sites’ capacity for MOUD care and on patient engagement in OUD care.
Public Health Relevance
This project will provide novel empirical information about how to optimally engage pharmacies as key partners in collaborative, integrated care models designed to expand access to evidence-based medication treatment for OUD.