Building a community of experts in medication-assisted treatment (MAT) using the Project ECHO© model

Project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) utilizes telemedicine to connect a multidisciplinary team of experts with a -network of primary care physicians to enable rapid dissemination of evidence-based -guidelines and practices at scale. In this study, the Project ECHO model disseminated the Arizona Pain and Addiction Curriculum to providers in rural Arizona with the goal to educate providers on medication-assisted treatment (MAT).

Participants engaged in biweekly, virtual teleECHO sessions, and post-session surveys were used to collect data on provider satisfaction, self-efficacy, knowledge, barriers to change, and changes in practice behavior.

Between February 2020 and November 2020, the MAT-ECHO program hosted 20 teleECHO sessions (N = 20) with 255 unique participating providers and delivered 877 learning hours. Analysis of a 6-month post-ECHO survey (N = 13) demonstrated that teleECHO sessions had broad geographic outreach. Participants had an average of 12 years of experience, 38 percent held NP/PA professional degrees, and 54 percent practiced in opioid treatment program settings. Assessment of job satisfaction and well-being revealed overall improved satisfaction among the small cohort of nonwaivered respondents (N = 8), except for meeting patient's needs. MAT-waivered respondents reported no post-session changes.

Data from this study demonstrated that teleECHO sessions were well attended, consisted of a diverse cohort with various degrees, and had broad geographic outreach; hence, the utilization of the teleECHO model has the potential to reach rural providers and subsequently increase the availability and -efficacy of MAT in rural America.