The article, “Association of MOUD ECHO Participation on Expansion of Buprenorphine Prescribing in Rural Primary Care,” has been published in SAj.
In this commentary, the authors state that the lack of access to buprenorphine to treat Opioid Use Disorder is profound in rural areas where over half of small and remote rural counties have no buprenorphine prescriber. To increase prescribing, an online, Medication of Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) Extensions for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) was developed that addressed known barriers to the startup and expansion of treatment. The objective of the present study was to determine the relationship between participating in MOUD ECHO sessions and prescribing of buprenorphine for OUD in rural primary care.
In the AUTHORS’ OWN WORDS, they relate the importance of their work:
“Barriers to the uptake of this treatment in primary care settings includes stigmatizing views toward patients with OUD, concerns with diversion, perceived lack of staff to support clinic workflow, and provider lack of confidence in ability to provide the treatment. However, these barriers can be addressed by working with providers to give them access to comprehensive education/training and ongoing support as they initiate and expand treatment. In 2017, our team of providers and researchers, with expertise in treatment of OUD, buprenorphine prescribing and therapeutic approaches, developed an innovative curriculum to support rural primary care providers to start this treatment. Our curriculum, called MOUD ECHO, uses the Extensions for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO©) model, an online telementoring approach providing didactics and interactive case-based learning with expert consultation.”
“Findings from this study help advance our understanding of the specific relationship between participating in MOUD ECHO sessions on expanding buprenorphine treatment in rural primary care. This study provides compelling evidence that participation can significantly increase the number of providers implementing this treatment and adding patients onto their panels.”