Project ECHO: Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) ECHO Program

Project ECHO: Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) ECHO Program Project ECHO: Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) ECHO Program Building Capacity to Improve High-Quality Care for Patients with OUD (yr 2 Funding) 1. PROJECT BACKGROUND: Arizona State University (ASU) and HonorHealth established a state-wide, multi-disciplinary collaborative partnership to scale education and practice in the management of patients with OUD through Project ECHO a model that uses technology to leverage expertise of the multidisciplinary team; share best practices to standardize evidence-based care; leverage case-based learning and guided practice to master complex cases; and apply web-based tools to monitor outcomes. 2. FUNDING HISTORY: Arizona State Universitys Center for Applied Behavioral Health Policy is a recipient of the State Opioid Response (SOR) grant, funded through the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS). The SOR grant is intended to increase access and utilization of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) through provider education and technical assistance. These efforts provide distribution of MAT-related resources, as well as direct instruction for providers seeking a buprenorphine waiver. Partnership with, and financial resource from, Blue Cross Blue Shield Mobilize AZ provided additional funding in 2019-2020 to support a more robust and structured technical assistance mechanism following educational efforts for the Arizona medical community at large. 3. PROJECT GOAL: ASU and HonorHealth continue to facilitate, evaluate, and disseminate results from the state-wide MAT-oriented ECHO program. 4. SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED: Continuation of the ongoing operations of a MAT ECHO providing technical assistance for new MAT prescribers. The ECHO model, developed by the University of New Mexico, utilizes web technologies to provide instruction and case consultation for a specific medical condition (e.g. opioid use disorders). This medium allows for ongoing technical assistance for newly trained and newly practicing MAT providers, without necessitating the need to leave ones clinical setting to participate. This joint ASU-Blue Cross Blue Shield ECHO will serve both providers in the BCBS network, as well as those providers newly trained in buprenorphine prescribing through the SOR effort, with the stated purpose of ensuring newly waivered providers are prescribing to capacity and following best practice for office based opioid treatment. The evidence-based nature of the curriculum is assessed using the bi-weekly CE survey (Appendix A) as well as through biannual pre-post program surveys. These biannual surveys will specifically capture each participants perceived changes in knowledge, confidence, practice patterns, number of patients with OUD in their clinic, etc. by asking where they were prior to attending the ECHO program and where they are now on specific measures. Please see Appendix A for an example of this survey format. The number of DATA-waived participants is also assessed via the bi-weekly CE survey, such as number waivered providers, number of OUD patients in the panel, and delivery of evidenced-based content. Capacity needs to be teased out using survey logic; current data reflect the interdisciplinarity of the ECHO participant group. Program participants have included physicians (15%), advanced practice providers (28%), behavioral health providers (25%), and other provider types (e.g. medical assistants, health educators) (21%), consistent with the interdisciplinary program the team intended to build. Project ECHO: Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) ECHO Program 1. PROJECT BACKGROUND: Arizona State University (ASU) and HonorHealth established a state-wide, multi-disciplinary collaborative partnership to scale education and practice in the management of patients with OUD through Project ECHO a model that uses technology to leverage expertise of the multidisciplinary team; share best practices to standardize evidence-based care; leverage case-based learning and guided practice to master complex cases; and apply web-based tools to monitor outcomes. 2. FUNDING HISTORY: Arizona State Universitys Center for Applied Behavioral Health Policy is a recipient of the State Opioid Response (SOR) grant, funded through the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS). The SOR grant is intended to increase access and utilization of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) through provider education and technical assistance. These efforts provide distribution of MAT-related resources, as well as direct instruction for providers seeking a buprenorphine waiver. Partnership with, and financial resource from, Blue Cross Blue Shield Mobilize AZ provided additional funding in 2019-2021 to support a more robust and structured technical assistance mechanism following educational efforts for the Arizona medical community at large.