Data from Virginia Commonwealth University Update Knowledge in Opioids (Associations Between Patient-Reported Experiences with Opioid Use Disorder Treatment and Unmet Treatment Needs and Discontinuation Among Virginia Medicaid Members): Opioids

2023 SEP 28 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Current study results on opioids have been published. According to news reporting from Richmond, United States, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “Many payers, including Medicaid, the largest payer of opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment, are pursuing treatment-related quality improvement initiatives. Yet, how patient-reported experiences with OUD treatment relate to patient-centered outcomes remains poorly understood.”

Financial supporters for this research include Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services.

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from Virginia Commonwealth University: “To examine associations between Medicaid members’ OUD treatment experiences, outpatient treatment settings, demographic and social factors, and members’ self-report of unmet needs during treatment and treatment discontinuation. A sample of Virginia Medicaid members aged 21 years or older with OUD diagnoses who received outpatient OUD treatment completed a mail survey between January 2020 and August 2021 (n = 1042, weighted n = 9244). A treatment experience index was constructed from responses to four items from the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) relating to feelings of involvement, safety, and respect and having treatment explained in an understandable way; two additional CAHPS items: “given options for treatment” and “able to refuse treatment” were also assessed. Weighted imputed logistic regressions tested adjusted associations between members’ treatment experiences, demographic and social factors, and two outcomes capturing unmet needs during treatment and treatment discontinuation. More positive scores on the treatment experiences index were associated with lower adjusted odds of reporting unmet needs during treatment (aOR: 0.52, 95% CI: 0.41-0.66) and discontinuation (aOR: 0.63, 95% CI: 0.47-0.79). Respondents with serious psychological distress had higher odds of reporting unmet needs during treatment (aOR: 1.69 95% CI: 1.14-2.51) and discontinuation (aOR: 1.84, 95% CI: 1.21-2.82), as did individuals with housing insecurity (unmet needs: (aOR: 1.65, 95% CI: 1.11-2.44); treatment discontinuation: (aOR: 1.56, 95% CI: 1.04-2.36)).”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Using a first-of-its-kind survey of Medicaid members with OUD, we found that members who had more positive treatment experiences were less likely to report unmet treatment needs and discontinue treatment. Care approaches focused on improving patient experience are critical to delivering effective, high-quality OUD treatment.”

For more information on this research see: Associations Between Patient-Reported Experiences with Opioid Use Disorder Treatment and Unmet Treatment Needs and Discontinuation Among Virginia Medicaid Members. Substance Abuse, 2023. The publisher for Substance Abuse is SAGE Publications.

A free version of this journal article is available at https://doi.org/10.1177/08897077231186218.

Our news editors report that more information may be obtained by contacting Sarah J. Marks, Department of Health Behavior and Policy, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, United States. Additional authors for this research include Huyen Pham, Neil McCray, Jennifer Palazzolo, Ashley Harrell, Jason Lowe, Chethan Bachireddy, Lauren Guerra, Peter J. Cunningham, Andrew J. Barnes.

ORCID is an identifier for authors and includes bibliographic information. The following is ORCID information for the authors of this research: Sarah J. Marks (http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3468-3474), Jason Lowe (http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4838-7489).

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