Improving treatment for opioid dependence: A perspective from the Ohio Valley Node of the NIDA Clinical Trials Network.

Rates of adoption of evidenced-based practices to treat opioid dependence, including the use of medications, are low and severely limit secondary prevention efforts to curtail the prescription drug epidemic. The goal of this article was to describe how involvement in a research clinical trials network, the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN), facilitated the adoption of medications to treat opioid dependence at two community-based treatment programs (CTPs) affiliated with the Ohio Valley Node (OVN) of the network. Both programs are large, not-for-profit facilities that treat patients with either public or private insurance. One program, Maryhaven, had limited experience using FDA-approved medications to treat opioid dependence before joining the CTN; the other, Midtown, had a methadone clinic but no experience with buprenorphine or naltrexone. This article discusses the adoption of medications to treat opioid dependence in these two programs by highlighting critical turning points, lessons learned, and challenges encountered.

Conclusions: The NIDA CTN is a research network that facilitates the adoption of innovative science-based treatments for SUDs. One of the intrinsic values of participating in a research network is that the infrastructure allows opportunities for collaborative relationships to develop, building trust over time, and ultimately providing a professional network that can provide technical assistance that may be the final barrier to adoption or serve as a tipping point for adoption. Participation in a clinical trials network may facilitate adoption by providing the infrastructure for trialability and observability, but the most critical function may be the knowledge translation that occurs through the individual-level professional relationships that develop.