Medical Treatment of Opioid Use Disorders Falls Short

TOPLINE:

Just one third of outpatient community mental health treatment facilities (MHTFs) in 20 states with the highest rates of opioid overdose report they offer medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD), new research showed.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers surveyed administrators of 450 MHTFs in 20 states identified by high opioid overdose rates using a standardized 10-item survey.
• States included Arizona, California, Connecticut, and 17 others, focusing on publicly funded facilities.
• Researchers obtained data from the RAND Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Tracking Repository, which includes information about each MHTF.

TAKEAWAY:

• About one third of facilities (34%) offered MOUD.
• Buprenorphine (84%) and naltrexone (70%) are the most frequently offered medications, while methadone (14%) is less commonly offered.
• Facilities with integrated treatment services are more likely to offer MOUD.
• A total of 70% of participants paid for MOUD with private insurance, 84% with Medicaid, 67% with Medicare, and 75% paid out of pocket.

IN PRACTICE:

“Outpatient community mental health treatment facilities can be an important part of the treatment ecosystem for individuals with opioid use disorders,” lead author Jonathan Cantor, PhD, said in a press release. “Our findings suggest that offering integrated substance use disorder services for people with co-occurring mental illnesses is a potential avenue toward improving uptake of medication-assisted treatment among those with opioid use disorder.”

SOURCE:

The study was led by Jonathan Cantor, PhD, of RAND in Santa Monica, California. It was published online on June 18 in JAMA Network Open.

LIMITATIONS:

The study’s focus on states with high opioid overdose rates may limit generalizability. The extent to which facilities deliver MOUD and the number of patients receiving it remain unknown.

DISCLOSURES:

The study was supported by the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts. Jonathan Cantor reported grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Aging outside the submitted work. Additional disclosures are noted in the original article.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.