Summary Transcript

Amass, L., Ling, W., Freese, T.T., Reiber, C., Annon, J. J., Cohen, A. J., McCarty, D., Reid, M., Brown, L.S., Clark, C., Ziedonis, D.M., Krejci, J., Stine, S., Winhusen, T., Brigham, G., Babcock, D., Muir, J., Buchan, B.J. & Horton, T. (2004). Bringing buprenorphine–naloxone detoxification to community treatment providers: The NIDA Center for Clinical Trials Network field experience. American Journal on Addictions, 13, S42– S66. PMCID: PMC1255908.

These analyses documented the safety and effectiveness of an opioid detoxification taper using buprenorphine within 12 specialty addiction treatment settings (n = 234). The first multi-site test of buprenorphine within specialty clinics. Encouraged adoption of buprenorphine for detoxification from opioid use disorders. CTN-0001 and CTN-0002.

Humphreys, K., Wing, S., McCarty, D., Chappel, J., Gallant, L., Haberle, B., Horvath, A. T., Kaskutas, L. A., Kirk, T., Kivlahan, D., Laudet, A., McCrady, B. S., McLellan, A. T., Morgenstern, J., Townsend, M. & Weiss, R. (2004). Self-help organizations for alcohol and drug problems: Toward evidence-based practice and policy. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 26, 151–158. PMID: 15063905.

This consensus statement developed by a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration workgroup reviews the effectiveness of self-help services and the implications for stakeholders, consumers and policymakers. The analysis encourages development of policies that support self-help participation, including the adoption of validated referral strategies and menus of the local options for self-help services. The paper continues to be cited.

Institute of Medicine (1998). S. Lamb, M. R. Greenlick & D. McCarty (Eds). Bridging the Gap between Practice and Research: Forging Partnerships with Community-Based Drug and Alcohol Treatment. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and the National Institute on Drug Abuse sponsored the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Community-based Drug Treatment to examine (a) treatment strategies, promising research approaches and ways to link treatment with research, (b) mechanisms for treatment programs to participate in research and the adoption of the research in practice, (c) technology transfer strategies, (d) barriers that inhibit research within and the application of research to treatment practices, (e) barriers that slow integration of treatment practices with research and (f) innovative strategies to circumvent the barriers. The Committee’s first recommendation advocated for development of a community-based clinical trials network that tested emerging research in the complexity of real-world addiction treatment settings. The recommendations supported the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s creation of the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network.

McCarty, D., Gustafson, D.H., Wisdom, J.P., Ford, J., Choi, D., Molfenter, T., Capoccia, V., Cotter, F. (2007). The Network for the Improvement of Addiction Treatment (NIATx): enhancing access and retention. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 88, 138145. PMCID: PMC1896099.

The primary results from the first NIATx demonstration with 13 participating treatment centers documented a 37% reduction in days to treatment (from 19.6 to 12.4 days). Retention in care improved 18% between the first and second session of care (72–85%) and the third session of care (62–73%). Incremental changes in treatment processes led to reductions in waiting times and gains in retention. This publication provided a proof of concept that process improvement could be applied to addiction treatment services.