Association of polysubstance use disorder with treatment quality among Medicaid beneficiaries with opioid use disorder. 2023

Rosanna Smart, and Joo Yeon Kim, and Susan Kennedy, and Lu Tang, and Lindsay Allen, and Dushka Crane, and Aimee Mack, and Shamis Mohamoud, and Nathan Pauly, and Rosa Perez, and Julie Donohue
Drug Policy Research Center, RAND Corporation, 1776 Main Street, PO Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138, United States of America. Electronic address: rsmart@rand.org.

The opioid crisis is transitioning to a polydrug crisis, and individuals with co-occurring substance use disorder (SUDs) often have unique clinical characteristics and contextual barriers that influence treatment needs, engagement in treatment, complexity of treatment planning, and treatment retention. Using Medicaid data for 2017-2018 from four states participating in a distributed research network, this retrospective cohort study documents the prevalence of specific types of co-occurring SUD among Medicaid enrollees with an opioid use disorder (OUD) diagnosis, and assesses the extent to which different SUD presentations are associated with differential patterns of MOUD and psychosocial treatments. We find that more than half of enrollees with OUD had a co-occurring SUD, and the most prevalent co-occurring SUD was for "other psychoactive substances", indicated among about one-quarter of enrollees with OUD in each state. We also find some substantial gaps in MOUD treatment receipt and engagement for individuals with OUD and a co-occurring SUD, a group representing more than half of individuals with OUD. In most states, enrollees with OUD and alcohol, cannabis, or amphetamine use disorder are significantly less likely to receive MOUD compared to enrollees with OUD only. In contrast, enrollees with OUD and other psychoactive SUD were significantly more likely to receive MOUD treatment. Conditional on MOUD receipt, enrollees with co-occurring SUDs had 10 % to 50 % lower odds of having a 180-day period of continuous MOUD treatment, an important predictor of better patient outcomes. Associations with concurrent receipt of MOUD and behavioral counseling were mixed across states and varied depending on co-occurring SUD type. Overall, ongoing progress toward increasing access to and quality of evidence-based treatment for OUD requires further efforts to ensure that individuals with co-occurring SUDs are engaged and retained in effective treatment. As the opioid crisis evolves, continued changes in drug use patterns and populations experiencing harms may necessitate new policy approaches that more fully address the complex needs of a growing population of individuals with OUD and other types of SUD.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008484 Medicaid Federal program, created by Public Law 89-97, Title XIX, a 1965 amendment to the Social Security Act, administered by the states, that provides health care benefits to indigent and medically indigent persons. Dental Medicaid Program,Medical Assistance, Title 19,Dental Medicaid Programs,Medicaid Program, Dental,Medicaid Programs, Dental,Program, Dental Medicaid,Programs, Dental Medicaid
D009293 Opioid-Related Disorders Disorders related to or resulting from abuse or misuse of OPIOIDS. Opiate Addiction,Opiate Dependence,Opioid Misuse,Opioid Use Disorder,Prescription Opioid Abuse,Prescription Opioid Misuse,Addiction, Opioid,Dependence, Opioid,Opiate Abuse,Opioid Abuse,Opioid Addiction,Opioid Dependence,Abuse, Opiate,Abuse, Opioid,Abuse, Prescription Opioid,Addiction, Opiate,Dependence, Opiate,Disorder, Opioid Use,Misuse, Opioid,Misuse, Prescription Opioid,Opiate Abuses,Opioid Abuse, Prescription,Opioid Abuses,Opioid Addictions,Opioid Dependences,Opioid Misuses,Opioid Related Disorders,Opioid Use Disorders,Opioid-Related Disorder,Prescription Opioid Abuses,Prescription Opioid Misuses
D002047 Buprenorphine A derivative of the opioid alkaloid THEBAINE that is a more potent and longer lasting analgesic than MORPHINE. It appears to act as a partial agonist at mu and kappa opioid receptors and as an antagonist at delta receptors. The lack of delta-agonist activity has been suggested to account for the observation that buprenorphine tolerance may not develop with chronic use. 6029-M,Buprenex,Buprenorphine Hydrochloride,Buprex,Prefin,RX-6029-M,Subutex,Temgesic,Temgésic,6029 M,6029M,Hydrochloride, Buprenorphine,RX 6029 M,RX6029M
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000701 Analgesics, Opioid Compounds with activity like OPIATE ALKALOIDS, acting at OPIOID RECEPTORS. Properties include induction of ANALGESIA or NARCOSIS. Opioid,Opioid Analgesic,Opioid Analgesics,Opioids,Full Opioid Agonists,Opioid Full Agonists,Opioid Mixed Agonist-Antagonists,Opioid Partial Agonists,Partial Opioid Agonists,Agonist-Antagonists, Opioid Mixed,Agonists, Full Opioid,Agonists, Opioid Full,Agonists, Opioid Partial,Agonists, Partial Opioid,Analgesic, Opioid,Full Agonists, Opioid,Mixed Agonist-Antagonists, Opioid,Opioid Agonists, Full,Opioid Agonists, Partial,Opioid Mixed Agonist Antagonists,Partial Agonists, Opioid
D012189 Retrospective Studies Studies used to test etiologic hypotheses in which inferences about an exposure to putative causal factors are derived from data relating to characteristics of persons under study or to events or experiences in their past. The essential feature is that some of the persons under study have the disease or outcome of interest and their characteristics are compared with those of unaffected persons. Retrospective Study,Studies, Retrospective,Study, Retrospective
D014481 United States A country in NORTH AMERICA between CANADA and MEXICO.
D015995 Prevalence The total number of cases of a given disease in a specified population at a designated time. It is differentiated from INCIDENCE, which refers to the number of new cases in the population at a given time. Period Prevalence,Point Prevalence,Period Prevalences,Point Prevalences,Prevalence, Period,Prevalence, Point,Prevalences
D058850 Opiate Substitution Treatment Medication-assisted treatment of opioid dependence using a substitute opiate such as METHADONE or BUPRENORPHINE. Opiate Replacement Therapy,Opioid Maintenance Treatment,Medication Assisted Treatment of Opioid,Opiate Medication-Assisted Treatment,Opioid Medication Assisted Treatment,Opioid Replacement Therapy,Opioid Substitution Therapy,Opioid Substitution Treatment,Maintenance Treatment, Opioid,Medication-Assisted Treatment, Opiate,Opiate Medication Assisted Treatment,Opiate Medication-Assisted Treatments,Opiate Replacement Therapies,Opiate Substitution Treatments,Opioid Maintenance Treatments,Opioid Replacement Therapies,Opioid Substitution Therapies,Opioid Substitution Treatments,Replacement Therapy, Opiate,Replacement Therapy, Opioid,Substitution Therapy, Opioid,Substitution Treatment, Opiate,Substitution Treatment, Opioid,Therapy, Opioid Substitution,Treatment, Opioid Maintenance

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