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Review
. 2020 Apr 15:411:116712.
doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2020.116712. Epub 2020 Feb 3.

Long-term treatment retention in West Virginia's comprehensive opioid addiction treatment (COAT) program

Laura R Lander  1 , Wanhong Zheng  2 , Jeremy D Hustead  2 , James J Mahoney 3rd  2 , James H Berry  2 , Patrick Marshalek  2 , Erin L Winstanley  2
Affiliations
Review

Long-term treatment retention in West Virginia's comprehensive opioid addiction treatment (COAT) program

Laura R Lander et al. J Neurol Sci. .

Abstract

Background: The United States continues to experience an opioid epidemic of unprecedented proportions despite FDA approval of life saving medications, such as buprenorphine. This paper describes a novel group-based buprenorphine treatment model and summarizes patient characteristics and treatment retention. This model, known as the Comprehensive Opioid Addiction Treatment (COAT) program, was developed in West Virginia, the epicenter of the opioid epidemic.

Methods: Data on 454 patients actively enrolled in the COAT program were extracted from an administrative clinical data set and electronic medical records and analyzed using descriptive and quantitative analysis to determine long-term retention in treatment using frequencies and means.

Results: The characteristics of the 454 patients are as follows: average age of 39, 53% female, predominantly white (94%) and Medicaid was the primary insurance provider (68%). Analysis of retention showed 37.8% of patents were retained less than one year and 14.7% were retained 10 or more years. Initiating treatment at a younger age was associated with long-term retention.

Conclusion: Opioid use disorder is a chronic relapsing disease and treatment models that retain patients long-term have the greatest benefit. The COAT model has been successful in retaining patients long-term in a rural setting where barriers to treatment are many.

Keywords: Addiction treatment; Buprenorphine; Medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD); Opioid use disorder (OUD); Patient outcomes; Retention.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Buprenorphine dose by tratment group.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Years of abstinence.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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