Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 23, 2025
Author Spotlight: Workflow for Integrating POCUS Data into EHR for Managing Heart Failure Patients
Published on: July 12, 2024
Integration of a Community Opioid Treatment Program Into a Federally Qualified Health Center
Christine Neeb1, Brianna M McQuade, Linda Lesondak
1From the Department of Medicine-Internal Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO (CN); Department of Pharmacy Practice, University of Illinois Chicago College of Pharmacy, Chicago, IL (BMMQ); University of Illinois Chicago, UI Health, Mile Square Health Center, Chicago, IL (CN, LL, SM, NH, SB, JF, NL, EH, RP, NG); Department of Human Development Nursing Science, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL (JMS); Chestnut Health Systems, Lighthouse Institute, Chicago, IL (DPW); and Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL (NK).
Objectives:
With the increasing rates of opioid overdose deaths in the United States, barriers to treatment access for patients seeking medications for opioid use disorder (OUD), and challenges of initiating buprenorphine in patients who use fentanyl, it is essential to explore novel approaches to expanding access to methadone treatment. An opioid treatment program (OTP) and a federally qualified health center (FQHC) partnered to develop and implement an innovative integrated methadone and primary care treatment model. The process for integrating an OTP and FQHC to provide methadone treatment in the primary care setting will be discussed.
Methods:
An OTP methadone dispensing site was co-located in the FQHC, utilizing a staffing matrix built on the expertise of each stakeholder. The OTP managed DEA and state regulatory processes, whereas the FQHC physicians provided medical treatment, including methadone treatment protocols, treatment plans, and primary care. Patient demographics, medical history, and retention data for those who entered the program between January 2021 and February 2023 were collected through chart review and analyzed with descriptive statistics.
Results:
A total of 288 OTP-FHQC patients were enrolled during the study. Retention rates in methadone treatment at 90 and 180 days were similar to partner clinics.
Conclusions:
Collaboration between FQHCs and OTPs is operationally feasible and can be achieved utilizing the current staffing model of the FQHC and OTP. This model can increase access to treatment for OUD and primary care for an urban, underserved patient population.
Related Concept Videos
01:17Healthcare Agencies II
Parish nursing is a growing specialty nursing profession that focuses on holistic healthcare, health promotion, and illness prevention. It blends professional nursing practice with a health ministry, focusing on health and healing within the context of a Christian community. Parish nurses serve as health educators, referral sources,...
01:30Community Based Intervention
Foundations of Community Mental Health Programs
Central to the success of community-based interventions is the...
01:30Primary Healthcare Services
In 1978, international leaders convened in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, for what would be a pivotal event in global health. The Alma-Ata Declaration was the first to call...
01:20Integrated Healthcare System
01:30Specialized Care Centers and Settings-II
Rural health centers are specialized care facilities in remote locations with very few medical personnel. The primary care providers who run the centers are mostly Registered Nurse Practitioners. Here, emergency treatment is provided to critically ill or injured patients before they are transferred to the closest hospital. Fortunately, due to advancement in technology, many rural healthcare facilities and professionals have easy access to diagnostic and treatment...
01:30Specialized Care Centers and Settings-I
Daycare centers
They provide several functions. Some facilities care for healthy newborns and children whose parents work, while others are medically focused and care for...