Paper
Fulfilling a Need: A Residency-Based Program to Preserve a Suboxone Treatment Program in a Rural Community
Published Nov 1, 2021 · Mollie M. Meagher, Meredith C. Buck, Terrence Witt
The Annals of Family Medicine
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Abstract
A faculty member became aware of the community physician’s anticipated departure and his limited success in early attempts to identify clinicians to continue care. We then formed a multidisciplinary team of 3 resident champions, the faculty member, and the departing clinician. This team developed an implementation process to facilitate the rapid transition of patients into our practice. It involved the development of didactic sessions and documentation templates which facilitated treatment. A process was developed to allow seamless scheduling with our residency clinicians. All eligible resident and faculty clinicians attained their Drug Enforcement Administration waiver to prescribe Suboxone using an online course. Virtual patient visits were utilized when appropriate. We also began accepting new patients desiring, and appropriate for, medication-assisted treatment. Clinicians were surveyed regarding perceived barriers and general impressions before and 4 months after initiating the process. All but 1 patient transitioned their management to our residency practice during the first 4-month period (32 of 33 patients). The vast majority of these patients had been utilizing Suboxone for 1-5 years and demonstrated to us through their stories the benefits of medication-assisted treatment and how it stabilized and ultimately improved their lives. We also added 4 new patients during this process. Almost all residents and all faculty had positive impressions of the process and most agreed they would continue to practice medication-assisted treatment in their future practices.
Observational StudyA residency-based program successfully transitioned a rural Suboxone treatment program, stabilizing and improving patients' lives, with most residents and faculty agreeing to continue medication-assisted treatment in future practices.
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