AHRQ Innovations Exchange | Community Partnerships and Provider Training Increase Service Capacity and Access to Long-Term Treatment for Individuals With Heroin Addiction

Innovation Profile:

Community Partnerships and Provider Training Increase Service Capacity and Access to Long-Term Treatment for Individuals With Heroin Addiction



Summary
The Baltimore Buprenorphine Initiative expands access to long-term heroin and opioid addiction treatment by developing partnerships between medical facilities, substance abuse treatment centers, and social service agencies, and through training and certification of physicians to administer buprenorphine treatment. The program has enhanced access and adherence to long-term buprenorphine treatment, increased the number of trained and certified physicians and treatment programs, and facilitated access to health insurance coverage.

See the Description of the Innovative Activity section for a description of a new program element (an information-sharing Web site), the Results section for updated data on access and outcomes, and the Resources Used and Skills Needed section for new staffing and cost information (updated February 2011).

Evidence Rating
Suggestive: The evidence consists of post-implementation data on the amount and type of services provided, the number of trained providers, and the capacity of substance abuse treatment centers. The underlying assumption is that, in the absence of this program, patients would not have had access to such treatment, and providers would not have increased their capacity to serve.

Developing Organizations
Baltimore City Department of Health; Baltimore Healthcare Access, Inc.; Baltimore Substance Abuse Systems, Inc.; Mid-Atlantic Association of Community Health Centers; Open Society Institute

Date First Implemented
2006

Patient Population
Vulnerable Populations > Substance abusers; Urban population

full-text:
AHRQ Innovations Exchange | Community Partnerships and Provider Training Increase Service Capacity and Access to Long-Term Treatment for Individuals With Heroin Addiction