Improving Hospital-To-Methadone Clinic Connection Using Implementation Support for Patients With Opioid Use Disorder

Starting soon · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Opioid Use Disorder

In brief

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a hospital-based approach can help people with opioid use disorder (OUD) connect to a methadone clinic after leaving the hospital. This study focuses on adults with OUD who are in the hospital and want to start methadone treatment. Methadone is a safe and effective treatment for OUD. It can reduce cravings, prevent withdrawal, and lower the risk of overdose and death. Even though methadone works well, many people do not receive it. For people who start treatment in the hospital, the time after discharge is a high-risk period. Many patients do not connect to a methadone clinic after they leave. This can lead to return to opioid use, overdose, repeat hospital visits, and poor health. This study tests a new approach where hospital teams help complete the methadone clinic intake during the hospital stay. This approach uses trained hospital staff and structured workflows to complete key parts of the intake process before discharge. The goal is to reduce delays and make it easier for patients to connect to care right after leaving the hospital. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1) Does completing a methadone clinic intake during the hospital stay increase the number of people who connect to a methadone clinic after discharge? 2) Does providing support to hospital teams increase how often these in-hospital intakes are completed? Researchers will compare usual hospital care (referral at discharge) to a hospital-based approach that helps complete methadone clinic intake during the hospital stay to see if this improves connection to care.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT07568847

Run by

University of Colorado, Denver

People needed

1440

Starts

2026-10-01

Expected to finish

2030-11-30

Last updated by the study team

2026-05-18

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Age ≥18 years
• Hospitalized with DSM-5 opioid use disorder, confirmed by clinical assessment
• Eligible for methadone treatment as determined by the clinical team
• Not currently enrolled in an Opioid Treatment Program (OTP)
• Anticipated discharge to the community
• Willing to initiate methadone and follow up at a partnering OTP

You may not qualify if…

• Current enrollment in an Opioid Treatment Program (OTP)
• Planned discharge to a correctional or institutional setting that precludes OTP follow-up
• Medical or psychiatric instability that precludes safe methadone initiation or completion of study procedures
• Inability to provide required information for OTP intake due to impaired cognition or altered mental status

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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