Work

Availability of Treatment for Alcohol and Opioid Use Disorders Among Accountable Care Organization Participants

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: This study examined whether an organization's investment in opioid use disorder services complements or detracts from its capacity to provide alcohol use services. METHODS: Using data from the 2022 National Survey of Accountable Care Organizations (N=200 respondents to alcohol-related questions), the authors estimated the percentage of organizations participating in accountable care organization contracts that provided alcohol-related services (brief counseling or medications), either by direct provision or via referral. They tested whether organizations offering buprenorphine for opioid use disorder were more or less likely to offer alcohol-related services. RESULTS: Most respondents (81%) reported that their organization provided brief counseling directly, but less than half (45%) provided medications for alcohol use disorder directly. Respondents providing buprenorphine (62%) had higher rates of alcohol-related service provision. CONCLUSIONS: Although medications for alcohol use disorder were provided less frequently than buprenorphine, no evidence suggests that treatment services for opioid use disorder crowded out those for alcohol use disorder.

Source: Psychiatric Services

DOI: 10.1176/appi.ps.20240573

Authors: Aryn Z. Phillips, Mary F. Brunette, Maia Crawford, Susan H. Busch, Ellen Meara

Institutions: University of Illinois Chicago, Dartmouth College, Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Yale University, Harvard University

Language: English

Topic: Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes

Subfield: Epidemiology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institute on Drug Abuse