Mobile treatment for opioid use disorder: Implementation of community-based, same-day medication access interventions

• Published in: Journal of substance use and addiction treatment Vol. 159; p. 209272
• Main Authors: Chatterjee, Avik, Baker, Trevor, Rudorf, Maria, Walt, Galya, Stotz, Caroline, Martin, Anna, Kinnard, Elizabeth N., McAlearney, Ann Scheck, Bosak, Julie, Medley, Bethany, Pinkhover, Allyson, Taylor, Jessica L., Samet, Jeffrey H., Lunze, Karsten
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.04.2024
• Subjects: Harm reduction; Mobile health units; Opiate overdose; Opioid use disorder; Vulnerable populations; Harm reduction; Opiate overdose; Vulnerable populations; Opioid use disorder; Mobile health units
• ISSN: 2949-8759; 2949-8759
• DOI: 10.1016/j.josat.2023.209272

Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) are lifesaving, but <20 % of individuals in the US who could benefit receive them. As part of the NIH-supported HEALing Communities Study (HCS), coalitions in several communities in Massachusetts and Ohio implemented mobile MOUD programs to overcome barriers to MOUD receipt. We defined mobile MOUD programs as units that provide same-day access to MOUD at remote sites. We aimed to (1) document the design and organizational structure of mobile programs providing same-day or next-day MOUD, and (2) explore the barriers and facilitators to implementation as well as the successes and challenges of ongoing operation. Program staff from five programs in two states (n = 11) participated in semi-structured interviews. Two authors conducted thematic analysis of the transcripts based on the domains of the social-ecological model and the semi-structured interview guide. Mobile MOUD units sought to improve immediate access to MOUD (“Our answer is pretty much always, ‘Yes, we'll get you started right here, right now,’”), advance equity (“making sure that we have staff who speak other languages, who are on the unit and have some resources that are in different languages,”), and decrease opioid overdose deaths. Salient program characteristics included diverse staff, including staff with lived experience of substance use (“She just had that personal knowledge of where we should be going”). Mobile units offered harm reduction services, broad medical services (in particular, wound care), and connection to transportation programs and incorporated consistency in service provision and telemedicine access. Implementation facilitators included trusting relationships with partner organizations (particularly pharmacies and correctional facilities), nuanced understanding of local politics, advertising, protocol flexibility, and on-unit prescriber hours. Barriers included unclear licensing requirements, staffing shortages and competing priorities for staff, funding challenges due to inconsistency in grant funding and low reimbursement (“It's not really possible that billing in and of itself is going to be able to sustain it”), and community stigma toward addiction services generally. Despite organizational, community, and policy barriers, participants described mobile MOUD units as an innovative way to expand access to life-saving medications, promote equity in MOUD treatment, and overcome stigma. •Mobile units can promote equitable access to medications for opioid use disorder.•Judgment-free, culturally responsive care, informed by lived experience, was key.•Service variety (e.g., wound care, harm reduction) was noted to be important for engagement.•Agency, community, and policy (licensing, funding) barriers to mobile MOUD exist.•Future goals include comprehensive medical care, methadone, and program evaluation.