Study Results from Harvard Medical School in the Area of Opioids Reported (Association Between Peer Support Services, Treatment Engagement and Overdose Risk Among Kentucky Medicaid Beneficiaries With Opioid Use Disorder): Opioids

2025 NOV 28 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Data detailed on Opioids have been presented. According to news reporting originating from Boston, Massachusetts, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Peer-support specialists leverage experience to assist individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) in their recovery, leading to better patient health outcomes. However, the longitudinal impact of peer support on treatment and health outcomes is understudied.”

Financial support for this research came from Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from Harvard Medical School, “We identified the universe of patients with OUD beneficiaries in Kentucky’s Medicaid managed care program from 2020 to 2021. Among this population, we utilized mixed-effect logistic regression models to study the association between peer-support engagement duration and buprenorphine receipt and opioid overdose risk. We also used descriptive analysis to compare beneficiaries who received one or more peer-support service claims with OUD-treated beneficiaries who did not receive any peer support, and the evolution of peer-support receiving beneficiary characteristics across the duration of peer-engagement. Peer-support receipt was associated with higher rates of mental health comorbidities, greater social vulnerability, and more intense service delivery across a broader array of settings. Following peer-support initiation, beneficiary use of services in more intensive settings declined. Relative to the period before receipt of peer services, peer-support retention was associated with a 19.7 percentage point increase in buprenorphine receipt and a 0.4 percentage point reduction in overdose risk. Engagement with peers declined drastically over time, with fewer than 20 % of beneficiaries remaining in peer support after two years. Given the associated benefits of peer support, declining participation underscores the need for strategies to enhance retention.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Addressing reimbursement policies, clinical integration barriers, and follow-up protocols may strengthen the impact of peer support in OUD treatment.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Association Between Peer Support Services, Treatment Engagement and Overdose Risk Among Kentucky Medicaid Beneficiaries With Opioid Use Disorder. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2025;277. Drug and Alcohol Dependence can be contacted at: Elsevier Ireland Ltd, Elsevier House, Brookvale Plaza, East Park Shannon, Co, Clare, 00000, Ireland. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Drug and Alcohol Dependence - http://www.journals.elsevier.com/drug-and-alcohol-dependence/)

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Jason B. Gibbons, Harvard Medical School, Div Pharmacoepidemiol & Pharmacoecon, Mass Gen Brigham, Boston, MA, United States. Additional authors for this research include Vivian Flanagan, Sachini Bandara, Carlos Hardy, Marla Oros and Brendan Saloner.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2025.112944. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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