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INTRODUCTION: A record number of drug overdose (OD) deaths occurred in the United States in 2021. We know little regarding the impact of patient drug OD deaths on providers within health care settings. The aim of this study was to assess provider preparedness and experience with patient drug OD death. METHODS: The study distributed an email invitation to individuals in the Provider Clinical Support System database in December 2020 to complete an anonymous web-based survey. We used multiple choice questions to assess provider demographics, preparedness to cope with patient OD death, and experience with patient OD death. The study evaluated stress associated with patient OD death using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised. We summarized responses using descriptive statistics. Associations between high stress after patient OD death and the impact of the death on clinical practice and the helpfulness of individuals and processes were assessed using Chi-square and Fisher's Exact tests. RESULTS: Among the 12,204 individuals who read the email invitation, 1064 opened the survey link, and 523 completed the survey. Participants were predominantly physicians (40.2 %) and counselors (25 %), 70 % female, 78.4 % white, with a mean age of 52 years. Among the participants 26.4 % felt at least very well prepared to cope with an OD death, and 27.7 % felt at least very well prepared to support a colleague with a patient OD death. Most respondents (55.1 %) had a history of a patient OD death. Many patient OD deaths were not discussed by providers with other colleagues, but when providers did discuss these deaths providers identified colleagues as being very helpful. Compared to providers with low stress after patient OD death, those with high levels of stress were more likely to refer patients to a higher level of care (p = 0.035). CONCLUSIONS: Many providers did not feel prepared themselves to cope with a patient OD death or support a colleague following this type of event. Patient OD deaths were a common experience, and providers did not frequently discuss their patient's deaths with others. A patient OD death can change clinical decision-making for providers experiencing high levels of stress related to the OD death.

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OBJECTIVES: Among opioid use disorder (OUD)-treating providers, to characterize adaptations used to provide medications for OUD (MOUD) and factors associated with desire to continue virtual visits post-COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: In a national electronic survey of OUD-treating prescribers (July-August 2020), analyses restricted to X-waivered buprenorphine prescribers providing outpatient, longitudinal care for adults with OUD, quantitative and qualitative analyses of survey items and free text responses were conducted. RESULTS: Among 797 respondents, 49% were men, 57% ≥50 years, 76% White, 68% physicians. Respondents widely used virtual visits to continue prescribing existing MOUD regimens (79%), provide behavioral healthcare (71%), and initiate new MOUD prescriptions (49%). Most prescribers preferred to continue/expand use of virtual visits after COVID-19. In multivariable models, factors associated with preference to continue/expand virtual visits to initiate MOUD postpandemic were treating a moderate number of patients prepandemic (aOR = 1.67; 95%[CI] = 1.06,2.62) and practicing in an urban setting (aOR = 2.17; 95%[CI] = 1.48,3.18). Prescribing buprenorphine prepandemic (aOR = 2.06; 95%[CI] = 1.11,3.82) and working in an academic medical center (aOR = 2.47; 95%[CI] = 1.30,4.68) were associated with preference to continue/expand use of virtual visits to continue MOUD postpandemic. Prescribing naltrexone extended-release injection prepandemic was associated with preference to continue/expand virtual visits to initiate and continue MOUD (aOR = 1.51; 95%[CI] = 1.10,2.07; aOR = 1.74; 95%[CI] = 1.19,2.54). Qualitative findings suggest that providers appreciated virtual visits due to convenience and patient accessibility, but were concerned about liability and technological barriers. CONCLUSIONS: Surveyed prescribers widely used virtual visits to provide MOUD with overall positive experiences. Future studies should evaluate the impact of virtual visits on MOUD access and retention and clinical outcomes.

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OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected health care delivery, effects that are juxtaposed with health care professional (HCP) burnout and mental distress. The Opioid Use Disorder Provider COVID-19 Survey was conducted to better understand the impact of COVID-19 on clinical practice and HCP well-being. METHODS: The cross-sectional survey was e-mailed to listservs with approximately 157,000 subscribers of diverse professions between July 14 and August 15, 2020. Two dependent variables evaluated HCP functioning and work-life balance. Independent variables assessed organizational practices and HCP experiences. Covariates included participant demographic characteristics, addiction board certification, and practice setting. Multilevel multivariate logistic regression models were used. RESULTS: Among 812 survey respondents, most were men, White, and physicians, with 46% located in urban settings. Function-impairing anxiety was reported by 17%, and 28% reported more difficulty with work-life balance. Difficulty with functioning was positively associated with having staff who were sick with COVID-19 and feeling close to patients, and was negatively associated with being male and having no staff changes. Difficulty with work-life balance was positively associated with addiction board certification; working in multiple settings; having layoffs, furloughs, or reduced hours; staff illness with COVID-19; and group well-being check-ins. It was negatively associated with male gender, older age, and no staff changes. CONCLUSIONS: Demographic, provider, and organizational-practice variables were associated with reporting negative measures of well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. These results should inform HCPs and their organizations on factors that may lead to burnout, with particular focus on gender and age-related concerns and the role of well-being check-ins.

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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In 2000, the American Board of Medical Specialties implemented the Maintenance of Certification (MOC), a structured process to help physicians identify and implement a quality improvement project to improve patient care. This study reports on findings from an MOC Performance in Practice (PIP) module designed and evaluated by addiction psychiatrists who are members of the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP). METHOD: A 3-phase process was utilized to recruit AAAP members to participate in the study. The current study utilized data from 154 self-selected AAAP members who evaluated the effectiveness of the MOC Tobacco Cessation PIP. RESULTS: Of the physicians participating, 76% (n = 120) completed the Tobacco PIP. A paired t-test analysis revealed that reported changes in clinical measure documentation were significant across all six measures. Targeted improvement efforts focused on a single clinical measure. Results found that simple change projects designed to improve clinical practice led to substantial changes in self-reported chart documentation for the selected measure. CONCLUSIONS: The current findings suggest that addiction psychiatrists can leverage the MOC process to improve clinical care. SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: The study demonstrates that a quality improvement collaborative can support an MOC process to help addiction psychiatrists eliminate barriers to access to tobacco cessation treatment. (Am J Addict 2017;26:34-41).

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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The Providers' Clinical Support System for Medication Assisted Treatment (PCSS-MAT) initiative focuses on training and mentoring health professionals in the treatment of opioid use disorders (OUD) using pharmacological strategies. Led by the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP), PCSS-MAT is a consortium representing four of the five national professional organizations authorized by DATA 2,000-AAAP, American Osteopathic Academy of Addiction Medicine, American Psychiatric Association, and American Society of Addiction Medicine. DATA organizations are authorized to train physicians to prescribe buprenorphine for OUD treatment. The primary aim of PCSS-MAT is to substantially increase evidence-based practices with medications for OUD. METHODS: This review describes the development of PCSS-MAT, an ongoing national initiative funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), to address the training needs posed by this critical public health problem. Core initiatives include: (1) Training and mentoring activities for primary care physicians; (2) Outreach to multidisciplinary professional organizations, (3) Creating a resource portal for families, patients, and communities for OUD treatment. RESULTS: Educational outreach to providers addresses the needs of patients with OUD and common co-occurring psychiatric and medical disorders. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The overall scope of PCSS-MAT is to increase access to evidence-based treatment of substance use disorders as a public health priority. Recently enacted legislation requires office-based opioid treatment programs to offer all Food and Drug Administration-approved (FDA) forms of MAT. SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: Working with health care providers to effectively deliver MAT is key to integrating behavioral and physical medicine. (Am J Addict 2016;25:603-609).

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