Implementing a Patient-Centered, Rapid-Access Substance Use Treatment Pathway in Primary Care

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Healthcare Management
• Substance Use Disorder Treatment

Background:

• Substance use disorders (SUDs) are prevalent, yet access to treatment in primary care settings is often limited.
• Effective SUD treatments exist, but implementation barriers hinder widespread adoption in community health clinics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a quality improvement initiative to create a rapid-access pathway for SUD treatment services.
• To enhance patient access to timely and continuous SUD care within community health clinics.

Main Methods:

• Employed quality improvement methodologies to design and implement a new treatment pathway.
• Utilized a "secret shopper" methodology to assess initial wait times and access requirements.
• Developed a patient-centered approach offering immediate telehealth appointments followed by linkage to ongoing care.

Main Results:

• The rapid-access pathway was successfully implemented with high treatment access rates.
• The new pathway proved feasible for clinic operations and minimally disruptive.
• Immediate telehealth appointments effectively connected patients to necessary SUD services.

Conclusions:

• A rapid-access, patient-centered telehealth pathway is a viable strategy to improve SUD treatment accessibility in primary care.
• Quality improvement methods can effectively address systemic barriers to SUD care.
• This model demonstrates potential for scalable integration into routine clinic workflows.