COVID-19-Related Opioid Treatment Policy Evaluation
Status unconfirmed
Conditions studied: Opioid-use Disorder, Alcohol Use Disorder
In brief
Our nation is facing the COVID-19 pandemic during an ongoing opioid epidemic. Effective treatment for patients with opioid use problems involves a treatment method called Medication-Assisted Treatment, or MAT. In MAT, patients receive a medication that reduces cravings and withdrawal symptoms and can prevent overdose. Patients also receive counseling. Because the medications that are used in MAT are controlled substances, this treatment is subject to a number of federal regulations. The need for social-distancing during the pandemic would have made following these regulations very difficult for patients and their providers. Because of these difficulties, the federal government eased regulations in March 2020, making it easier for patients to receive MAT with fewer (if any) in-person visits for medication and counseling. Our team is studying the effects of these policy changes on the treatment that patients with opioid use disorder receive and on their outcomes. We are using both quantitative analyses of large, existing databases and qualitative analyses of interviews with patients, providers, and policy-makers to study these effects.
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT05028998
- Run by
- Boston VA Research Institute, Inc.
- People needed
- 110
- Starts
- 2021-09-15
- Expected to finish
- 2023-08-31
- Last updated by the study team
- 2023-08-01
Who can join
Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.
You may qualify if…
- VA patients with OUD who currently, or recently (within the past 6 months) receive(d) treatment for OUD from providers within Veterans Health Administration in the states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, or New Hampshire.
- Non-Veteran patients with OUD (N=30) who currently, or recently (within the past 6 months) receive(d) treatment for OUD from providers outside Veterans Health Administration in the states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, or New Hampshire.
- VA - OUD treatment providers who currently provide treatment for OUD within Veterans Health Administration, and have been a Veterans Health Administration provider of OUD treatment for at least one year in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, or New Hampshire.
- Non-VA OUD treatment providers who currently provide treatment for OUD outside of Veterans Health Administration, and have been a provider of OUD treatment for at least one year in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, or New Hampshire.
- OUD treatment and policy decision-makers who currently or recently (within past 6 months) hold/held positions within federal, state, or private organizations (e.g., Veterans Health Administration, SAMHSA) in which they are responsible for making and/or influencing significant decisions regarding the OUD treatment policy and/or the manner in which these are implemented.
You may not qualify if…
- Under 18
- Inability to speak fluent English
- Inability to provide a clear reporting of their experiences due to current influence of substances
Where it is running
- VA Boston Healthcare System — Boston, Massachusetts, United States (enrolling)
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
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