outpatient treatment Archives

The Authors’ Own Words: Outpatient Continuing Care after Residential Substance Use Disorder Treatment in the U.S. Veterans Health Administration: Facilitators and Challenges

Jan 21, 2020 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.

Outpatient Continuing Care after Residential Substance Use Disorder Treatment in the U.S. Veterans Health Administration: Facilitators and Challenges

Anna D. Rubinsky, PhD, MS; Laura S. Ellerbe, MS; Shalini Gupta, MS; Tyler E. Phelps, MLIS, MS; Thomas Bowe, PhD; Jennifer L. Burden, PhD; & Alex H. S. Harris, PhD, MS

Substance Abuse Vol. 39, Iss. 3, 2018

“We found wide variation in rates of outpatient continuing care across VHA’s 97 residential SUD treatment programs, despite policy requirements for follow-up care within a week of discharge, suggesting substantial opportunity for quality improvement. These findings also suggest that administrative data-based metrics could be useful for monitoring SUD continuing care following residential treatment. Moreover, this study identified key facilitators of and barriers to SUD continuing care. The candidate “best practices” from high-performing programs could inform the design and testing of targeted quality improvement strategies to improve rates of SUD continuing care, particularly in low-performing programs that may be high-value targets for quality improvement.”

The Authors’ Own Words: Homelessness predicts attrition but not alcohol abstinence in outpatients experiencing co-occurring alcohol dependence and serious mental illness

Jan 17, 2020 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.

Homelessness predicts attrition but not alcohol abstinence in outpatients experiencing co-occurring alcohol dependence and serious mental illness

Emily Leickly, BA; Jordan Skalisky, BA; Oladunni Oluwoye, PhD; Sterling M. McPherson, PhD; Debra Srebnik, PhD; John M. Roll, PhD; Richard K. Ries, MD; & Michael G. McDonell, PhD

Substance Abuse Vol. 39, Iss. 3, 2018

“Individuals with serious mental illness receiving contingency management (CM) for alcohol dependence who were also experiencing homelessness had higher rates of CM attrition than those who were housed. However, homelessness was not associated with differences in EtG-assessed alcohol abstinence. Thus, CM could be a promising intervention for adults with co-occurring disorders provided homelessness-related participation barriers are addressed.”

The Authors’ Own Words: Integration of a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist into a Substance Use Disorder Intensive Outpatient Treatment Program to Improve Prescribing Rates of Alcohol Use Disorder Pharmacotherapy

Jan 6, 2020 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.

Integration of a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist into a Substance Use Disorder Intensive Outpatient Treatment Program to Improve Prescribing Rates of Alcohol Use Disorder Pharmacotherapy

Erica Dimitropoulos PharmD, Stephanie Bertucci LICSW; & Kara Wong PharmD, BCPP

Substance Abuse Vol. 39, Iss. 2, 2018

“The pharmacist’s role in the management of substance use disorders is not currently well defined. In an effort to explore this further, our study employed a bridge service that utilized pharmacists to improve access to evidence-based alcohol use disorder pharmacotherapy. Using this model, we were able to optimize treatment by offering medications to supplement psychotherapy for patients enrolled in an intensive outpatient program. Our intervention serves as an example for other facilities looking for novel ways to integrate pharmacists into substance use disorder clinics.”