Experience Starting an Addiction Medicine Practice-based Research Network

Area of Science:

• Addiction Medicine Research
• Health Services Research
• Digital Health Implementation

Background:

• The Addiction Medicine Practice-Based Research Network (AMNet) was established to foster the adoption of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and measurement-based care.
• The network aims to create a unified platform for quality improvement and research within outpatient addiction treatment settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To outline the development experience of the AMNet, focusing on the implementation of PROMs and measurement-based care.
• To establish a research platform for addiction treatment practices.

Main Methods:

• Selected 12 PROMs for integration into the American Psychiatric Association's clinical data registry (PsychPRO).
• Recruited addiction medicine providers and collected PROMs data between August 2019 and July 2023.
• Facilitated data submission through PsychPRO patient portals and direct integration with providers' electronic health records.

Main Results:

• 1565 providers expressed interest, with 141 ultimately participating from 15 practices.
• Data submission was achieved by 38 providers via PsychPRO portals and 83 providers integrating their own systems.
• Data collected from 468 patients through the initial PsychPRO portal.

Conclusions:

• Continued provider recruitment is planned to expand the network's reach.
• Addressing data transfer barriers and integrating diverse data sources are key next steps.
• The established platform will support future addiction treatment research and quality improvement initiatives.