Nudges and Incentives to Enhance the Opioid Treatment Workforce
| Status: | Recruiting |
|---|---|
| Conditions: | Psychiatric |
| Therapuetic Areas: | Psychiatry / Psychology |
| Healthy: | No |
| Age Range: | 18 - 99 |
| Updated: | 3/1/2019 |
| Start Date: | February 12, 2019 |
| End Date: | July 2020 |
| Contact: | Marisa Domino, PhD |
| Email: | domino@unc.edu |
| Phone: | (919)966-3891 |
This project seeks to examine a critical barrier to optimizing the health care workforce for
the treatment of opioid use disorders. Without a dramatic increase in the number of primary
care providers trained and comfortable with the many nuances of prescribing
medication-assisted treatment (MAT), the staggering increases in opioid overdose deaths will
continue to skyrocket. However, Drug Addiction Treatment Act (DATA) 2000 waiver training
alone is not enough to facilitate prescribing for patients who desperately need services; an
estimated 40% of physicians with waivers do not initiate MAT prescriptions. To address this
problem, North Carolina developed a learning collaborative framework to promote MAT training.
Learning collaboratives have been shown to be an efficacious approach to increase utilization
of MAT, but engagement among providers in North Carolina has been low. To date, the need to
encourage provider collaborative participation at scale has not been addressed. This is the
critical problem focused on in this proposal.
The death rate from accidental opioid overdoses continues to climb at an alarming rate, with
overdose deaths in 2016 almost five times the number from 1999. The daily death rate from
opioid overdoses in the U.S. alone is now estimated at 115, so every day that evidence-based
treatment is not available leads to more preventable deaths. North Carolina is one of the
states with both an opioid overdose death rate greater than the national average (11.9 vs
10.4 deaths per 100,000, age-adjusted) and a rate of increase in opioid overdose deaths
greater than the national average (19% vs. 16%). North Carolina is also one of four states
with an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) funded Extension for Community
Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) MAT learning collaborative available to primary care practices,
but engagement among providers is low. While the main barriers to engagement are incompletely
understood, recent evidence from provider interviews conducted by the study team in December
2017 and January 2018 suggest that one substantial barrier is the time required for weekly
ECHO clinics.
the treatment of opioid use disorders. Without a dramatic increase in the number of primary
care providers trained and comfortable with the many nuances of prescribing
medication-assisted treatment (MAT), the staggering increases in opioid overdose deaths will
continue to skyrocket. However, Drug Addiction Treatment Act (DATA) 2000 waiver training
alone is not enough to facilitate prescribing for patients who desperately need services; an
estimated 40% of physicians with waivers do not initiate MAT prescriptions. To address this
problem, North Carolina developed a learning collaborative framework to promote MAT training.
Learning collaboratives have been shown to be an efficacious approach to increase utilization
of MAT, but engagement among providers in North Carolina has been low. To date, the need to
encourage provider collaborative participation at scale has not been addressed. This is the
critical problem focused on in this proposal.
The death rate from accidental opioid overdoses continues to climb at an alarming rate, with
overdose deaths in 2016 almost five times the number from 1999. The daily death rate from
opioid overdoses in the U.S. alone is now estimated at 115, so every day that evidence-based
treatment is not available leads to more preventable deaths. North Carolina is one of the
states with both an opioid overdose death rate greater than the national average (11.9 vs
10.4 deaths per 100,000, age-adjusted) and a rate of increase in opioid overdose deaths
greater than the national average (19% vs. 16%). North Carolina is also one of four states
with an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) funded Extension for Community
Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) MAT learning collaborative available to primary care practices,
but engagement among providers is low. While the main barriers to engagement are incompletely
understood, recent evidence from provider interviews conducted by the study team in December
2017 and January 2018 suggest that one substantial barrier is the time required for weekly
ECHO clinics.
This study is designed to assess how to effectively recruit and enroll primary care providers
into participation into an ECHO MAT learning collaborative. For study participants that
enroll in the learning collaborative, the study team will track participation over 6 months.
The study is designed to be implemented in two phases. Phase 1 is the recruitment phase.
Providers will be randomized to receive recruitment letters and emails from 1 of 4
conditions. Randomization for this phase will occur at the practice level, as determined by
provider address.
Participants that contact the study team and enroll in the study will begin Phase 2 of the
study. In Phase 2 of the study participants will be randomly assigned to rewards for
participation in ECHO MAT learning collaborative. Their participation in the learning
collaborative will be tracked. Phase 2 of the study is a pilot.
Recruitment:
Primary care providers will receive recruitment letters, and may receive emails and phone
calls based on the recruitment condition they are assigned to.
Informed Consent:
Since it is not possible to consent before recruitment, participants will complete the
informed consent process at the beginning of Phase 2 of the study. The consent form will be
shared with eligible participants when they contact the study team to enroll. Before
enrolling in the ECHO MAT learning collaborative, participants will be asked to provide
consent in order to enroll in the study.
Randomization:
Phase 1: Primary care providers will be randomized by practice to 1 of 4 study arms.
Computerized randomization will assign practices to study arms, practices and primary care
providers will have an equal chance of being randomized to each study arm .
Phase 2: Eligible participants will be randomized to the Phase 2 study arm upon enrollment in
the study. Randomization will be assigned using a predetermined randomly ordered list of
study condition assignments. Upon enrolling in the study, the participants will be assigned
to the condition that is next on the list. Participants will have an equal chance of being
randomized to each study arm.
Assessment:
Assessment for Phase 1 will occur when participants contact study staff with interest in the
study or to enroll. Any primary care providers that are sent letters but do not contact study
staff will be included in study analyses as 'No' for outcomes for Phase 1.
Assessment for Phase 2 will occur throughout the 6 months after participants enroll in the
study. Outcomes for this study phase are related to participation in ECHO MAT learning
collaboratives, which is tracked for each training by study staff.
Detailed Description of the Intervention:
Phase 1 recruitment letters are designed in a 2 (prosocial mention of need for primary care
providers trained in opioid use disorder treatment vs. none) x 2 (mention of additional
practice supports available for participation in training vs. none). This yields 4 study
conditions for recruitment letters: 1) Letter including prosocial messages and additional
mention of practice supports available for participation, 2) Letter including prosocial
messages but no additional mention of practice support available for participation, 3) Letter
including an additional mention of practice support available for participation but no
prosocial messages, and 4) Recruitment as usual letter that does not include prosocial
messages or an additional mention of practice support available for participation.
Phase 2 examines participation in the learning community by group. Participants will be
randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups. At this time the investigators are not disclosing the
Phase 2 conditions, and will disclose these at the end of the study, as approved by UNC's
institutional review board (IRB).
into participation into an ECHO MAT learning collaborative. For study participants that
enroll in the learning collaborative, the study team will track participation over 6 months.
The study is designed to be implemented in two phases. Phase 1 is the recruitment phase.
Providers will be randomized to receive recruitment letters and emails from 1 of 4
conditions. Randomization for this phase will occur at the practice level, as determined by
provider address.
Participants that contact the study team and enroll in the study will begin Phase 2 of the
study. In Phase 2 of the study participants will be randomly assigned to rewards for
participation in ECHO MAT learning collaborative. Their participation in the learning
collaborative will be tracked. Phase 2 of the study is a pilot.
Recruitment:
Primary care providers will receive recruitment letters, and may receive emails and phone
calls based on the recruitment condition they are assigned to.
Informed Consent:
Since it is not possible to consent before recruitment, participants will complete the
informed consent process at the beginning of Phase 2 of the study. The consent form will be
shared with eligible participants when they contact the study team to enroll. Before
enrolling in the ECHO MAT learning collaborative, participants will be asked to provide
consent in order to enroll in the study.
Randomization:
Phase 1: Primary care providers will be randomized by practice to 1 of 4 study arms.
Computerized randomization will assign practices to study arms, practices and primary care
providers will have an equal chance of being randomized to each study arm .
Phase 2: Eligible participants will be randomized to the Phase 2 study arm upon enrollment in
the study. Randomization will be assigned using a predetermined randomly ordered list of
study condition assignments. Upon enrolling in the study, the participants will be assigned
to the condition that is next on the list. Participants will have an equal chance of being
randomized to each study arm.
Assessment:
Assessment for Phase 1 will occur when participants contact study staff with interest in the
study or to enroll. Any primary care providers that are sent letters but do not contact study
staff will be included in study analyses as 'No' for outcomes for Phase 1.
Assessment for Phase 2 will occur throughout the 6 months after participants enroll in the
study. Outcomes for this study phase are related to participation in ECHO MAT learning
collaboratives, which is tracked for each training by study staff.
Detailed Description of the Intervention:
Phase 1 recruitment letters are designed in a 2 (prosocial mention of need for primary care
providers trained in opioid use disorder treatment vs. none) x 2 (mention of additional
practice supports available for participation in training vs. none). This yields 4 study
conditions for recruitment letters: 1) Letter including prosocial messages and additional
mention of practice supports available for participation, 2) Letter including prosocial
messages but no additional mention of practice support available for participation, 3) Letter
including an additional mention of practice support available for participation but no
prosocial messages, and 4) Recruitment as usual letter that does not include prosocial
messages or an additional mention of practice support available for participation.
Phase 2 examines participation in the learning community by group. Participants will be
randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups. At this time the investigators are not disclosing the
Phase 2 conditions, and will disclose these at the end of the study, as approved by UNC's
institutional review board (IRB).
Inclusion Criteria:
- Licensed Primary Care Provider (Doctor of Medicine (MD), Doctor of Osteopathic
Medicine (DO), Physician Assistant (PA), Nurse Practitioner (NP))
- Currently practice in North Carolina
- For Nurse practitioners, the following specialties were included:
- Addiction Psychiatry
- Addiction/Chemical Dependency
- Adolescent Medicine
- Emergency Medicine
- Family Practice
- Family Practice, Geriatric
- General Practice
- General Preventive Medicine
- Geriatrics
- Gerontology
- Gynecology
- Infectious Disease
- Internal Medicine
- Internal Medicine/Immunology Diagnostic
- Internal Medicine/Pulmonary Dis. & Crit
- Medicine/Pediatrics
- Medicine/Psychiatry
- Obstetrics
- Obstetrics and Gynecology/Critical Care
- Obstetrics/Gynecology
- Other Specialty
- Pain Management (phys med)
- Pain Medicine
- Pediatrics
- Psychiatry
- Psychiatry, Child
- Psychiatry/Geriatric
- Public Health
- Hospitalist
- For MD/DOs practitioners that were considered primary by the medical board care were
included except those specializing in sports, addiction, alcohol, and surgery
- For PAs practitioners were included that are considered primary care by the medical
board
Exclusion Criteria:
- Another member of the same practice is already enrolled in the study (one provider per
practice in Phase 2)
- Active participation in University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) ECHO
Collaborative at beginning of study
We found this trial at
1
site
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599
(919) 962-2211
Phone: 919-966-3891
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Carolina’s vibrant people and programs attest to the...
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