Research News Roundup: July 25, 2024

Journal: Journal of Substance Use & Addiction Treatment, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.josat.2024.209441

Authors: Diana Bowser, Robert Bohler, Margot T. Davis, Dominic Hodgkin, & Constance Horgan

Abstract:

Background: The national opioid crisis continues to intensify, despite the fact that opioid use disorder (OUD) is treatable and opioid overdose deaths are preventable through first-line treatment with medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). This study identifies and categorizes payment-related barriers that impact MOUD access and retention from both the provider and patient perspectives and provides insight into how these barriers can be addressed.

Methods: We performed a critical review of the literature (peer-reviewed studies and relevant documents from the gray literature) to identify payment-related access and retention barriers to MOUD. We used the results of this review to develop an analytic framework to understand how payment impacts MOUD access and retention for both providers and patients. In addition, we reviewed action plans developed by Massachusetts communities that participated in the Healing Communities Study (HCS) to analyze which payment-related barriers were addressed through the study.

Results: We identified 18 payment-related barriers that patients or providers face when initiating or continuing MOUD with either methadone or buprenorphine in Opioid Treatment Programs (OTP) and non-OTP settings. Patient-related barriers mainly relate to health insurance coverage or the design of health plans (e.g., cost sharing, covered benefits) resulting in direct (medical and non-medical) and indirect costs that can affect both access and retention, especially as they relate to services provided in OTPs. Provider-related barriers include low reimbursement and administrative burden and are most likely to impact access to MOUD. Evidence-based strategies to expand MOUD as part of the HCS in Massachusetts targeted about half of the patient and provider payment-related barriers identified.

Conclusion: Patients and providers face an array of payment-related barriers that impact access to and retention on MOUD, most of which relate to inadequate health insurance coverage, features of health plans, and key federal and state policies. As new regulatory policies are enacted that expand access to MOUD, such as greater flexibility in OTPs and MOUD delivered via telehealth, it will be important to align these delivery changes with payment reform involving payers, providers, and policymakers.

To read the full text of the article, please visit the publisher’s website.

Journal: Preventive Medicine, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2024.108058

Authors: Saba Rouhani, Lingzi Luo, Himani Byregowda, Nicholas Weaver, & Ju Nyeong Park

Abstract:

Objective: Following changes to drug criminalization policies, we re-examine the epidemiology of drug arrests among people who use drugs (PWUD) in the U.S.

Methods: Serial cross-sectional data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2015-2019) were utilized. Past-year illicit drug use (excluding cannabis) and drug arrests were described by year, area of residence, drug use characteristics and participant demographics. Adjusted associations between race and drug arrest were estimated using multivariable logistic regression.

Results: Past-year illicit drug use remained consistent over time and was highest among non-Hispanic (NH) white respondents. Of those reporting past-year illicit drug use (n = 25,429), prevalence of drug arrests remained stable over time overall and in metro areas while increasing in non-metro areas. Arrests were elevated among NH Black participants and those with lower income, unemployment, housing transience, non-metro area residence, polysubstance use, history of drug injection, substance use dependence and past-year drug selling. Adjusted odds of drug arrest remained significantly higher among NH Black individuals [aOR 1.92, 95% CI 1.30, 2.84].

Conclusion: Despite recent shifts away from punitive drug policies, we detected no reduction in drug arrests nationally and increasing prevalence in non-metro areas. Despite reporting the lowest level of illicit substance use and drug selling, NH Black individuals had significantly increased odds of arrest across years. Findings highlight the need for further examination of policy implementation and policing practices in different settings, with more research focused non-metro areas, to address enduring structural racism in drug enforcement and its consequences for health.

To read the full text of the article, please visit the publisher’s website.

Journal: Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.dadr.2024.100260

Authors: Leah K. Hamilton, Katharine A. Bradley, Theresa E. Matson, & Gwen T. Lapham

Abstract:

Background: The prevalence of cannabis use disorder (CUD) is increasing in the US and primary care providers need tools to identify patients with moderate-severe CUD to facilitate treatment. A single-item screen for cannabis (SIS-C) has outstanding discriminative validity for CUD. However, because the prevalence of moderate-severe CUD is typically low, the probability that an average patient who screens positive for daily cannabis has moderate-severe cannabis use disorder is low, making follow-up assessment important.

Methods: This study reports the discriminative validity of a DSM-5 Substance Use Symptom Checklist (“Checklist”) for moderate-severe CUD among 498 primary care patients who reported daily cannabis use on the SIS-C. We evaluated the performance of the Checklist (score 0-11) completed during routine care, compared to ≥4 DSM-5 CUD symptoms (moderate-severe CUD) on the Composite International Diagnostic Interview Substance Abuse Module from a confidential survey (reference standard). We estimated areas under receiver operating curve (AUROC), sensitivities, specificities, and post-test probabilities.

Results: Of 498 eligible patients, 17% met diagnostic criteria for moderate-severe CUD. The Checklist’s AUROC for moderate-severe CUD was 0.77 (95% CI: 0.71-0.83), and Checklist scores of 1-2 balanced sensitivity and specificity. Among patients from a population with average prevalence of CUD before screening (~6% prevalence) and daily use on the SIS-C, a Checklist score of 3 indicated a post-test probability of 82.1%.

Conclusion: Overall performance of the Checklist was good and the high specificity made it useful for identifying patients likely to have moderate-severe CUD among those at average risk.

To read the full text of the article, please visit the publisher’s website.

Journal: JAMA Network Open, 2024, doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.20837

Authors: Melinda Campopiano von Klimo, Laura Nolan, Michelle Corbin, Lisa Farinelli, Jarratt D. Pytell, Caty Simon, Stephanie T. Weiss, & Wilson M. Compton

Abstract:

Importance: The overdose epidemic continues in the US, with 107 941 overdose deaths in 2022 and countless lives affected by the addiction crisis. Although widespread efforts to train and support physicians to implement medications and other evidence-based substance use disorder interventions have been ongoing, adoption of these evidence-based practices (EBPs) by physicians remains low.

Objective: To describe physician-reported reasons for reluctance to address substance use and addiction in their clinical practices using screening, treatment, harm reduction, or recovery support interventions.

Data sources: A literature search of PubMed, Embase, Scopus, medRxiv, and SSRN Medical Research Network was conducted and returned articles published from January 1, 1960, through October 5, 2021.

Study selection: Publications that included physicians, discussed substance use interventions, and presented data on reasons for reluctance to intervene in addiction were included.

Data extraction and synthesis: Two reviewers (L.N., M.C., L.F., J.P., C.S., and S.W.) independently reviewed each publication; a third reviewer resolved discordant votes (M.C. and W.C.). This systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines and the theoretical domains framework was used to systematically extract reluctance reasons.

Main outcomes and measures: The primary outcome was reasons for physician reluctance to address substance use disorder. The association of reasons for reluctance with practice setting and drug type was also measured. Reasons and other variables were determined according to predefined criteria.

Results: A total of 183 of 9308 returned studies reporting data collected from 66 732 physicians were included. Most studies reported survey data. Alcohol, nicotine, and opioids were the most often studied substances; screening and treatment were the most often studied interventions. The most common reluctance reasons were lack of institutional support (173 of 213 articles [81.2%]), knowledge (174 of 242 articles [71.9%]), skill (170 of 230 articles [73.9%]), and cognitive capacity (136 of 185 articles [73.5%]). Reimbursement concerns were also noted. Bivariate analysis revealed associations between these reasons and physician specialty, intervention type, and drug.

Conclusions and relevance: In this systematic review of reasons for physician reluctance to intervene in addiction, the most common reasons were lack of institutional support, knowledge, skill, and cognitive capacity. Targeting these reasons with education and training, policy development, and program implementation may improve adoption by physicians of EBPs for substance use and addiction care. Future studies of physician-reported reasons for reluctance to adopt EBPs may be improved through use of a theoretical framework and improved adherence to and reporting of survey development best practices; development of a validated survey instrument may further improve study results.

To read the full text of the article, please visit the publisher’s website.