Initiation Archives

The Authors’ Own Words: Psychiatric comorbidity and HEDIS measures of alcohol and other drug treatment initiation and engagement across seven health systems

Nov 27, 2019 by AMERSA

The Authors’ Own Words:

We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

Psychiatric comorbidity and HEDIS measures of alcohol and other drug treatment initiation and engagement across seven health systems

Amy M. Loree, PhD; Hsueh-Han Yeh, PhD; Derek D. Satre, PhD; Andrea H. Kline-Simon, MS; Bobbi Jo H. Yarborough, PsyD; Irina V. Haller, PhD, MS; Cynthia I. Campbell, PhD, MPH; Gwen T. Lapham, PhD, MPH, MSW; Rulin C. Hechter, MD, PhD; Ingrid A. Binswanger, MD, MPH, MS; Constance Weisner, DrPH, MSW; & Brian K. Ahmedani, PhD, LMSW

Substance Abuse Vol. 40, Iss. 3, 2019

“This paper examines the influence of psychiatric comorbidity on alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment initiation and engagement among a large, diverse sample of health system patients with newly diagnosed AOD use disorders. Nearly two-thirds of patients with newly identified AOD use disorders also had a comorbid psychiatric disorder. Our findings indicated that identification of comorbid psychiatric disorders may increase initiation of AOD treatment but not engagement. We also found that the setting in which AOD use disorders are first identified among patients with comorbid psychiatric disorders may play a role in treatment initiation and engagement. Overall, these findings suggest that health care systems may need to consider adopting alternative approaches to improve identification and support of patients in need of treatment for both psychiatric and AOD use disorders.”

The Authors’ Own Words: Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) Measures of Alcohol and Drug Treatment Initiation and Engagement among People living with HIV and HIV-uninfected Patient

Nov 26, 2019 by AMERSA

The Authors’ Own Words:

We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) Measures of Alcohol and Drug Treatment Initiation and Engagement among People living with HIV and HIV-uninfected Patient

Rulin C. Hechter, MD, PhD; Michael A. Horberg, MD, MAS; Constance Weisner, DrPH, MSW; Cynthia I. Campbell, PhD, MPH; Richard Contreras, MS; Lie-Hong Chen, DrPH; Bobbi Jo H. Yarborough, PsyD; Gwen T. Lapham, PhD, MPH, MSW; Irina V. Haller, PhD, MS; Brian K. Ahmedani, PhD, LMSW; Ingrid A. Binswanger, MD, MPH, MS; Andrea H. Kline-Simon, MS; & Derek D. Satre, PhD

Substance Abuse Vol. 40, Iss. 3, 2019

“The findings of this study suggest people living with HIV and substance use disorders generally have greater number of comorbidities, including hepatitis C. Yet utilization of behavioral health services is low in this population. This is a clinically concerning pattern and requires more intensive support from the health systems and HIV specialists.“

The Authors’ Own Words: Predictors of Substance Use Treatment Initiation and Engagement Among Adult and Adolescent Medicaid Recipients

Nov 26, 2019 by AMERSA

The Authors’ Own Words:

We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

Predictors of Substance Use Treatment Initiation and Engagement Among Adult and Adolescent Medicaid Recipients

Bonnie K. Lind, PhD; Dennis McCarty, PhD; Yifan Gu, MS; Robin Baker, PhD; & K. John McConnell, PhD

Substance Abuse Vol. 40, Iss. 3, 2019

“This is the first analysis that looks at predictors of SUD treatment in both adolescents and adults in a Medicaid population. We found substantive differences in predictors of treatment initiation and engagement between adults and adolescents, including in gender and race groups, urban vs. rural residence, and presence of a psychiatric diagnosis. These findings suggest that efforts to improve treatment and engagement generally may need to differentiate strategies for adult and adolescent populations. In particular, efforts that may be successful for improving these measures for adult populations may be ineffective for adolescent populations, and, depending on the strategies, could exacerbate existing racial and gender disparities.“

The Authors’ Own Words: The Prevalence of HEDIS Initiation and Engagement in Treatment among Patients with Cannabis Use Disorders in Seven U.S. Health Systems

Nov 25, 2019 by AMERSA

The Authors’ Own Words:

We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

The Prevalence of HEDIS Initiation and Engagement in Treatment among Patients with Cannabis Use Disorders in Seven U.S. Health Systems

Constance Weisner, DrPH, MSW; Cynthia I. Campbell, PhD, MPH; Andrea Altschuler, PhD; Bobbi Jo H. Yarborough, PsyD; Gwen T. Lapham, PhD, MPH, MSW; Ingrid A. Binswanger, MD, MPH, MS; Rulin C. Hechter, MD, PhD; Brian K. Ahmedani, PhD, LMSW; Irina V. Haller, PhD, MS; Stacy A. Sterling, DrPH, MSW; Dennis McCarty, PhD; Derek D. Satre, PhD; & Andrea H. Kline-Simon, MS

Substance Abuse Vol. 40, Iss. 3, 2019

“This observational cohort study of 15,202 patients with a cannabis use disorder (CUD) from seven U.S. healthcare systems is the first known study to describe rates of HEDIS-defined alcohol and other drug use disorder (AOD) measures for initiation and engagement in treatment among patients with a newly diagnosed CUD. For these patients, rates of initiation and engagement were low, with considerable variation across index diagnosis setting, AOD comorbidity at index diagnosis, and patient characteristics. Greater adherence to these system-level treatment measures will likely require strong leader and provider partnerships to improve recognition of and linkage to evidence-based treatment for CUD, particularly for those patients with less AOD severity who could still benefit from treatment.“