One-third of mental health facilities offer medication for opioid addiction

THURSDAY, June 20, 2024 (HealthDay News) — About one-third of community outpatient mental health treatment facilities (MHTFs) offer medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD), according to a study published online on June 18. June in Open JAMA Network.

Jonathan Cantor, Ph.D., of RAND in Santa Monica, Calif., and colleagues quantified the availability of MOUD in community-based outpatient MHTFs in high-burden states and the characteristics associated with MOUD provision in a study transversal. Staff at 450 outpatient community MHTFs (152 certified community behavioral health centers (CCBHCs) and 298 non-CCBHCs) in 20 states were surveyed.

The researchers found that 34% of MHTFs offered MOUD based on weighted estimates. Self-reporting as a CCBHC, providing integrated treatment for mental and substance use disorders, having a specialized treatment program for clients with co-occurring mental and substance use disorders , providing housing services, and laboratory testing were facility-level factors associated with increased risks of proposing MOUD (odds ratios, 2.11, 5.21, 2.25, 2.54, and 2 ,15, respectively). Increased odds of offering MOUD were observed for facilities that accepted state-funded health insurance plans other than Medicaid as a method of payment (odds ratio, 1.95), while reduced odds were observed for facilities that accepted funds from public mental health agencies (odds ratio, 1.95). 0.43).

“Outpatient community mental health treatment centers can be an important part of the treatment ecosystem for people suffering from opioid use disorder,” Cantor said in a statement. “Additional attention is needed to address the challenges of providing drug treatments and to assess whether the reference models cited by many clinics are effective in meeting patient needs.”

Summary/Full text