With support from DHCS, Harbage Consulting is creating a series of MAT Toolkits aimed at educating the SUD workforce about MAT and how it can help the clients they serve.
The first toolkit, released in January, is aimed at informing residential treatment facilities about how they can offer MAT within their facility, either by allowing clients to access their medications during their stay, or by receiving approval from DHCS to provide Incidental Medical Services (IMS). The toolkit contains information about the science behind MAT; process for receiving IMS approval; and how providers can become DATA 2000 waivered to prescribe buprenorphine. The toolkit also contains sample policies and procedures for providing IMS, so that facilities can quickly adopt the necessary measures to safely provide clients medications.
The second toolkit was released in June, and is aimed at helping substance use counselors become familiar with MAT and have conversations with their clients about how MAT can help them. The toolkit contains:
A two-part booklet explaining the research supporting MAT, and how counselors can help clients who are receiving MAT as part of their treatment
Two quick guide documents to the FDA-approved medications for opioids and alcohol use disorder
A quick guide to helping clients find an MAT prescriber
An instruction guide to using the overdose reversal drug Narcan
A document from the National Council on Challenging Myths about MAT
SAMHSA’s MAT for Opioid Addiction – Facts for Family and Friends
Future toolkits will focus on providing resources for DUI programs and criminal justice settings. Harbage Consulting is also working on a consumer-facing resource to help educate individuals about MAT and how to find treatment within their community.
In two recent radio interviews, Marlies Perez, Division Chief of the Substance Use Disorder Compliance Division at DHCS, highlighted the treatment resources available to those with an opioid use disorder, including a treatment locator available at ChooseChangeCA.org. Through the California MAT Expansion Project, nearly 30 projects across the state are working to expand access to medication assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. Listen to the interviews on Listen Up Bay Area and Today’s World.
During an ABC 10 Sacramento and Company segment, Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) Division Chief of the Substance Use Disorder Compliance Division, Marlies Perez, discussed opioid use disorder, medication assisted treatment (MAT), and DHCS efforts to address the opioid crisis through the California MAT Expansion Project, highlighting the recently launched Choose Change California campaign, which includes an MAT treatment locator.
DHCS funded the Integrated Substance Abuse Programs at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to provide training services and technical assistance (TA) across the State of California, assisting DHCS’ efforts to improve, expand and increase access to MAT services. Activities are broken out into four objectives:
Develop and conduct a statewide survey among DATA 2000 waivered prescribers to determine training / technical assistance needs;
Interpret results and identify targeted areas of prescriber support and mentorship;
Build the appropriate training / TA team and develop curriculum; and
Provide distance and / or face-to-face training and technical assistance to increase prescriber / provider skills in delivering MAT services.
In the first phase of the project, the UCLA team collaborated with clinical experts and MAT champions to develop an online survey targeting California DATA 2000 waivered prescribers to identify why prescribers are NOT prescribing and identify the most effective supports / strategies to mitigate these barriers. Survey dissemination and data collection will occur in April 2019, and qualitative interviews will follow to further delve into the findings and understand prescribing barriers. In addition, UCLA secured a consultant agreement with Dr. Candy Stockton-Joreteg, family practitioner and MAT champion, who will provide ongoing expertise on the project team to assist in translating the survey findings into practical technical assistance and curriculum development. UCLA plans to build a team of clinical experts / physician champions to provide distance and / or face-to-face training and TA.
If you are interested in becoming a physician champion (e.g., being available by phone or email for questions, allowing a physician to shadow you for a day, etc.) please contact Valerie Antonini from UCLA. Training and TA is scheduled to initiate in early Summer 2019.
The Center for Care Innovation’s (CCI’s) Addiction Treatment Starts Here (ATSH) program includes three learning collaboratives designed to increase access to medications for addiction treatment (MAT) through hands on work in primary care, behavioral health and community partnerships. Each provides targeted hands-on technical assistance, education, and other methods to help clinics and communities advance their efforts. In designing these programs, CCI carried forward lessons from past addiction treatment work in primary care. To learn more about that work and the experience of a health center integrating MAT into primary care, view a short video of Marin City Health and Wellness Center’s transformation and read a description of the project’s goals and participant’s achievements.
Planning for all three ATSH collaboratives is well underway. The following is a short summary of each:
Addiction Treatment Starts Here: Primary Care (ATSH:PC) is working with 39 health centers across California to implement new or expand existing MAT programs. The collaborative launched in February 2019 and will conclude in September 2020. All sites have been selected and materials and resources are available on ATSH:PC website. The primary care collaborative is also supported by Cedars-Sinai.
Addiction Treatment Starts Here: Behavioral Health (ATSH:BH) will work with 10 mental health and substance use disorder sites to design and launch MAT programs. ATSH:BH will launch in May 2019 and conclude in September 2020. The program is in the process of selecting participants. The request for application is available on the ATSH:BH website and responses are due by April 5, 2019.
Addiction Treatment Starts Here: Community Partnerships (ATSH:CP) is a 16-month learning collaborative that supports multi-sector collaborations between community stakeholders (e.g., health care providers, local community residents, public agencies, first responders, and other local organizations) to address opioid use disorder (OUD). The project will equip California community opioid coalitions with on-the-ground technical assistance to identify their best opportunities through systems mapping and solutions for fighting the opioid crisis. A summary of the program and the letter of intent is available on the ATSH:CP website.
