National Study: Opioid Use and Medication Assisted Treatment

As family physicians across the country continue to struggle to meet the challenges precipitated by the opioid crisis, a new national study aims to fill gaps in knowledge for effective treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD).

This study compares medication assisted treatment (MAT) provided in three different settings: office-based, home induction and observed telehealth.

About the Study

The Home vs. Office for Medication Enhanced Recovery (HOMER) project is a comparative effectiveness research study that aims to understand if - and how - different induction methods for MAT influence patients’ engagement and long-term success in treatment for OUD.

HOMER will bring together 100 primary care practices from across the country, ensuring diversity among practices and patients. This study will help determine if certain patient and practice characteristics make patients better candidates for one method over the others. It will include a substantially larger sample and longer follow-up period than previous research.

• 100 practices (55 in Colorado, 45 Elsewhere)
  
• 1,200 total patients (up to 1,400 to allow for attrition)
  
• Nine months of patient follow-up
• Overall study length: 3 years

Participation

Eligible practices must have at least one provider who prescribes MAT with buprenorphine, the ability to enroll 6-20 patients in the study over a 12-month period and be willing to administer MAT in any of the three arms depending on patient randomization. Participating practices will receive access to resources including treatment protocols, forms, and guidelines, as well as funding to enroll and track patients.

Practices would begin participation in early 2021.

“This is a great study to help primary care take the lead in adding crucial information to overcoming the opioid epidemic in our communities,” said Jack Westfall, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Family Medicine and Primary Care in Washington, D.C., and a co-investigator for the HOMER project. Read the full news article. 

More Information

HOMER practices will support family physicians with evidence-based best practices to provide the best care to patients battling OUD. View the project flyer to see what participation means for your practice or contact our team with questions. 

Resources

• Colorado MAT Forum
• American Society of Addiction Medicine MAT Training

This study is funded by the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).