Clinical Decision Support to Increase Use of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder

Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot listed
Trial typeObservational
Biological sexAll
Age12-89
SponsorUniversity of Colorado, Denver

About this trial

The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of clinical decision support (CDS) in the form of an alert to identify patients who may be at risk of opioid use disorder (OUD) and a clinical care pathway helping providers treating patients with opioid use disorder. The pathway provides health care providers with information and suggestions for screening and treatment of opioid use disorder, including treatment with medications. The 2022 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) clinical practice guideline for prescribing opioids for pain recommends providers asses for and treat opioid use disorder using approved medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). This project will implement a passive CDS alert when a provider prescribes an opioid to a patient who may be at risk of opioid use disorder. Providers will also have link access to a clinical care pathway providing support for OUD screening and treatment. Before and after comparisons of buprenorphine (a medication used to treat opioid use disorder) prescribing by providers and outcomes of patients will be examined based on medical records data collected during routine care. The study period will be approximately 18 months.

Eligibility criteria

This trial accepts healthy volunteers

Qualifiers

Primary care encounter AND

Current opioid prescription (not buprenorphine) and Active opioid medications over the last 90 days OR

Documented as on local Pain Registry "Does the patient fit the criteria to be included on the Pain Registry?" OR

Has active problem list diagnosis of long-term (current) use of opiate analgesic OR

Disqualifiers

Active cancer diagnosis in the last 1 year

Hospice care/palliative care order

Sickle cell disease diagnosis

Trial population

Residents and visitors to the state of Colorado who seek healthcare within the University of Colorado Health (UCHealth) primary care system.

Trial design

Design model

Cohort

Time perspective

Prospective

Treatments tested in this trial

  • Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Pathway Clinical Decision Support (CDS)

    Other intervention

    Clinical decision support (CDS) in the form of an electronic health record (EHR)-integrated, provider-facing notification suggesting (a) the patient may be at risk for opioid use disorder and could benefit from screening, (b) patients with opioid use disorder would benefit from treatment with buprenorphine and (c) utilization of a clinical care pathway to help treat patients with opioid use disorder with buprenorphine as suggested by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines.

Treatment groups

200,000 Participants
are divided into 2 treatment groups
Group A: pre implementation period0 interventions
Group B: CDS Notification1 intervention

Trial outcomes

Primary outcomes

1

Percentage of patients at risk for opioid use disorder receiving medications for opioid use disorder

The number of primary care patients identified to be at risk for opioid use disorder treatment with buprenorphine for treatment divided by the total number of patients meeting opioid use disorder criteria

Time frame
18 months

Secondary outcomes

1

Clinical decision support (CDS) acceptance rate

The number of times providers accepted the clinical decision support (CDS) tool and utilized the clinical care pathway in treating opioid use disorder.

Time frame
18 months
2

Subsequent opioid overdose/poisoning rates

The number of patients who had a diagnosis of opioid overdose or poisoning

Time frame
Six months after an encounter where the opioid use disorder is identified
3

Buprenorphine initiation

Number of patients who filled a buprenorphine prescription after being identified at risk.

Time frame
Six months after an encounter where the opioid use disorder is identified

Other outcomes

Sponsors and contacts

Click on the lead sponsor to view all of their trials.

University of Colorado, Denver

Lead sponsor

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Collaborator

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Collaborator