News from the Health System Node

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.