CTN-0116: Pharmacist-Integrated Model of Medication Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder
Lisa A. Marsch, PhD
Lead Investigator
Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College
Lisa.A.Marsch@Dartmouth.edu
Pharmacists remain an underutilized resource in the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD). Although studies have engaged pharmacists in dispensing medications in OUD treatment (MOUD), few studies have evaluated collaborative care models in which pharmacists are an active, integral part of a primary care team offering OUD care. In this Phase 1 project, we seek to leverage a promising model of pharmacist-integrated care for OUD to 1) employ a mixed methods approach to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of implementing a pharmacist-integrated model of MOUD into the clinical workflow of a diverse array of clinical sites and 2) evaluate the impact of the pharmacist-integrated model on the clinical site’s capacity for MOUD care and on patient engagement in OUD care.
Primary Findings
In the study’s four primary care sites with retail pharmacies, participants, which included adults employed by the clinics and adult patients receiving medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), were exposed to the study’s pharmacist-integrated model of care (PrIMO) for at least two weeks and then surveyed. From 3 months pre- to 1 year post-launch, site staff reported fewer barriers to providing MOUD, increased knowledge of MOUD, and steady acceptability by providers/pharmacists and leadership. Patients reported less stigma and steady acceptability. Electronic health records data demonstrated increased MOUD retention rates, adherence to MOUD, clinic visits for MOUD, and total patients treated per prescriber. Integrating pharmacists into MOUD care teams may improve feasibility and acceptability of MOUD in primary care.
Primary outcomes article: Homsted F, et al. Feasibility of implementing a pharmacist-integrated collaborative model for opioid use disorder: A nonrandomized clinical trial. Journal of General Internal Medicine 2026 (in press).
Related Resources
Node Involvement
Lead Node(s):
All Participating Nodes: