App Designed to Help Providers Treat Patients with Opioid Use Disorder
In the midst of the pandemic, the United States is still coping with an addiction crisis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 81,000 drug overdose deaths – the highest on record – took place in the U.S. during the 12-month period ending in May 2020. Boston Medical Center, the primary teaching affiliate of Boston University School of Medicine, has developed a mobile app to help providers deliver evidence-based addiction treatment.
The app, BMC MAT, which can be downloaded free of charge in the Apple iTunes store and Google Play, provides guidelines and resources to treat opioid use disorder (OUD) with medication (buprenorphine or naltrexone) in office-based settings.
The interactive app includes clinical algorithms that help walk providers through each step of the decision-making process when caring for patients with OUD. The app also gives access to several tools, such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5) diagnostic criteria for OUD, the Clinical Opioid Withdrawal Scale (COWS), and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C). There is also a Quick Start tool that helps providers make decisions on how best to approach treating their patients with OUD, as well as managing chronic pain for someone with a history of substance use.
“Millions of Americans struggle with substance use disorders, yet a fraction of these individuals receive treatment for their condition,” said Colleen LaBelle, M.S.N., R.N.-B.C., in a statement. She serves as director of Boston Medical Center’s Office-Based Addiction Treatment (OBAT) program and the State Training and Technical Support+, and led the development of this app. “This app brings resources and guidance into the hands of providers to help expand access to medication to treat opioid use disorder.”
The app was funded in part by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration through the Opioid Resource Network and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
BMC’s OBAT program, developed under the leadership of LaBelle in 2003 following FDA approval of buprenorphine to treat OUD, brought treatment for substance use disorder into primary care. This nurse care manager-led model helped increase access to medication treatment for OUD and decrease the stigma around addiction, reinforcing the message that substance use disorder is a chronic condition that can be managed medically just like heart disease or diabetes. Now LaBelle and her team oversee implementation of the OBAT model at federally qualified health centers in Massachusetts, and the model has been adopted at locations across the country. In 2020, LaBelle and team provided training on evidence-based addiction treatment to more than 14,000 individuals.
“The data clearly shows that medication saves lives of those with opioid use disorder, and it’s our role to increase access to these medications. Using technology and innovative approaches, like this app, we can better equip providers with evidence-based guidelines and resources to treat patients with opioid use disorder,” added LaBelle, who is also with the Grayken Center for Addiction at BMC.
