A recent publication by Health System Node faculty, Stacy Sterling, DrPH, MSW, MPH, was selected as one of the top Quality Improvement/Implementation Science publications in the Journal of General Internal Medicine: A Randomized Trial of Alcohol Telemedicine in Primary Care: Pharmacotherapy and Referral Outcomes. J Gen Intern Med. 2026 Jan;41(1):6-15. Dr. Sterling presents this project in this JGIM webinar (if you’re not already a JGIM/SGIM member, you must register, but it’s straightforward and free). A new study led by Anh Nguyen, PhD, Health System Node faculty and Investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Colorado Institute for Health Research, published in JAMA Psychiatry showed that experiencing health plan disenrollment after initiating medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD)—such as buprenorphine or naltrexone—is a significant risk factor for elevated mortality. Losing or changing insurance coverage disrupts continuous treatment and significantly increases the likelihood of fatal overdoses and all-cause mortality. This important work was recently highlighted by Dr. Yngvild Olsen, former Director of the SAMHSA Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, in her expert testimony before the US House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on the overdose crisis.

The Southwest Node is hosting an upcoming webinar, featuring speakers Kamilla Venner, PhD, and Aimee Campbell, PhD, MSW, and reviewing results from CTN-0096. Partnering with Tribal Serving Programs to Enhance Culture in the Delivery of Substance Use Disorder Treatment June 9, 2026 | 11am EDT | Download flyer This project looked at adding culture to care for Alaska Native and American Indian people who had problems with opioid use. The care was medication treatment. We wanted to see if culture would help more people start and stay in treatment. We worked with four clinics. We invited Alaska Native and American Indian people to be on our Collaborative Board to help us with this project. Two American Indian women led groups at each clinic. Each clinic chose its own way to include culture in medication treatment. After culture was added, Alaska Native and American Indian customer-owners were more likely to start treatment and more likely to stay in treatment. These results suggest that including culture can help improve services for Alaska Native and American Indian people. Join the Zoom session here!Meeting ID: 977 4576 0996Passcode: SWCTN