PILOT FINDINGS
APPROACH
Multi-disciplinary “Virtual” care team consisting of the PCP, MAT provider, Counselor, Recovery Coach, and Psychiatrist Provided treatment, medications and toxicology at no charge to patients during the pilot period to eliminate financial constraints from affecting outcomes
Leveraged a software platform (The Recovery Platform) to manage the treatment & data:
- Telemedicine by clinicians and participants to eliminate issues surrounding patient access
- Automated PDMP & Random Lab Analysis – monitored compliance and drug seeking behaviors
- Delivered a Collaborative Care Model allowing for appropriate use of specialty expertise across disciplines
“On one platform, the Recovery Platform, we can access how many patients are in my panel, I can click and get immediate review of the PDMP without going through another interface, I'm able to see the results of the urine drug test, I can also see any interactions with the behavioral health coach as well as the person's individual counseling' – Karen L. Smith MD, FAAFP
ENROLLMENT
Nearly 25% of program participants have overdosed at least once.
More than 75% of patients began drug use before the age of 25 while 26.7% use IV needles for their drugs and 62.2% take drugs orally.
56.5% of participants either have a criminal record or are currently justice involved.
64.3% were concerned about their health and 37.8% indicated they have had medical issues related to their OUD.
Roughly 90% indicated they had a smartphone and reliable access to internet for the use of telemedicine.
OUTCOMES
Patient engagement was 100% for counseling and 92.1% for coaching, indicating the approaches and methodologies utilized were much more effective than traditional approaches.
40% of enrollees in the project had been active recovery for less than one month, yet we had a 100% retention rate for participants (with the exception of an individual who became incarcerated). Furthermore, over 70% had previously tried another program that did not work for them.
Automated PDMP searches performed before every MAT visit indicated no seeking behavior by patients during their treatment period.
78% of patients were found to have completely discontinued use of opiates or illicit drugs as a result of randomized toxicology screens.
Utilizing evidence based assessment tools, we found that 84% of patients showed improvement based on COWS and 71% showed improvement in multiple areas of the Brief Addiction Monitor.
Only one patient continued to show moderate issues related to withdrawal and it was found that their participating in coaching sessions was five times less than that of the average patient.
PATIENT RESPONSES
How much better are you in taking care of personal responsibilities?
'I probably wouldn't still have my job if I hadn't gotten into recovery. I have been at my job for a little over a year and a half and take on a lot of responsibility there. I am helping pay bills at home now and have even managed to buy a car. I have plans for my living room. I need to work on following through with something.'
'I'm definitely taking care of things that I should be I still need to work on getting my license.'
Are you a better member of the community?
'I stay out of trouble now. I don't carry things on me that are illegal, I always had to worry about seeing or talking to a cop. I am going to register to vote soon. People around me don't think I am high all the time.'
'I'm sure I broke laws on a daily basis back then, now I have no fear of law enforcement.'
How much better are you with drug and alcohol use?
'I'm living an entirely different life than I used to.'
'I'm very strong minded and have a lot of willpower'
How much better are you in taking care of personal responsibilities?
'I probably wouldn't still have my job if I hadn't gotten into recovery. I have been at my job for a little over a year and a half and take on a lot of responsibility there. I am helping pay bills at home now and have even managed to buy a car. I have plans for my living room. I need to work on following through with somethings.'