Technology Improving Medication-Assisted Treatment in Primary Care

UCLA researchers and their industry partner Q2i received funding from NIH/NIDA Grant Number 1R42DA050398-01 to measure the efficacy and potential of specialized technology (OARS) in increasing availability of medication-assisted treatment, specifically Suboxone (buprenorphine/naloxone), initiation and adherence, and ultimately opioid abstinence, in primary care settings.

With over 72,000 overdose deaths in 2017, of which 47,600 are attributable to opioid overdose, the opioid epidemic has become North America’s most widespread behavioral public health problem. Medication assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder (OUD) is highly efficacious.

The Opioid Addiction Recovery Support (OARS) comprises of a healthcare team portal connected to a patient mobile application, to provide opioid related education, promote connectedness with clinicians, and track MAT treatment progress. This STTR Fast Track proposal will conduct interviews with patients that will inform optimal design of OARS and utilize a “stepped wedge” effectiveness design to assess the effectiveness of OARS in improving opioid agonist treatment outcomes in primary care settings and evaluate sustainability and return on investment.

About OARS

OARS is an existing Q2i company technology that has been in use for over 2 years. Early-stage feedback from patients and providers indicates improved provider experience, high levels of patient engagement, greater adherence to treatment plans, and increased program retention/reduced drop out. The solution is also improving coordination of care. This study will collect empirical evidence on these improvements.

Features		Benefits to:
Component		Healthcare Team	Patient
Utox Results	Tracking, visualization and trend analysis of test results	Analyze patient Utox, share with patients, increasing ownership of treatment plan	View and keep track of Utox results and encourage treatment adherence
Attendance	View of patient’s attendance and punctuality	Log and track patient’s attendance at appointments and group meetings; get consolidated view of patient attendance to spot issues earlier	View meeting and appointment attendance records to reduce missed appointments and encourage treatment adherence
Participation	Displays patient’s engagement levels	Log, share and track patient’s responsiveness at appointments and group meetings	View feedback from the healthcare team
MATRA	A dynamic risk score indicating a patient’s likelihood to dropout/ relapse	Identify most at-risk patients and flag for investigation/ intervention to improve treatment outcomes	Healthcare team gains greater insight into patient’s recovery; earlier intervention with at-risk patients improves chances of maintaining recovery
Journal	A daily feedback of patient’s emotions	View and respond to patient’s daily feedback on feelings, challenges, coping	Securely log and share thoughts, stay connected and supported between visits
Healthcare Direct	Secure messaging channel between patients and clinicians	Timely communication improves treatment adherence	Timely communication improves patient satisfaction, treatment adherence
Education Content	Repository of all digital assets relating to the program	Post and share informative documents and videos to the patient’s app to motivate and educate	View material relevant to the treatment plan such as relapse prevention strategies
Calendar and Events	Appointments and events	Easily manage scheduled patient appointments and reminders; improve patient attendance	View upcoming appointment, get reminders; improve attendance
Surveys	Create or upload custom surveys for patients to complete	Collect valuable data and feedback to refine / improve treatment protocols	Gives feedback to help providers improve services