Implementing the Chronic Care Model for Opioid and Alcohol Use Disorders in Primary Care

Effective treatments for opioid and alcohol use disorders (OAUD) are available, yet only a small percentage of those needing treatment receive it.

This paper describes a collaborative planning and development process used by researchers and community providers to apply the chronic care model to the delivery of treatment for OAUD in primary care. The goal was to develop and implement an intervention that would support the delivery of brief psychotherapy and medication-assisted treatment (MAT).

We used focus groups and interviews to identify barriers and facilitators, and organized the results using the chronic care model. We then identified implementation strategies, the intended organizational changes, and the materials necessary to carry out each strategy, and pilot-tested the process.

We describe the methods and outcomes of the collaborative planning and development process, and discuss implications of the work for the integration of substance use treatment with primary care.