RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Increasing Capacity for Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder in Rural Primary Care Practices JF The Annals of Family Medicine JO Ann Fam Med FD American Academy of Family Physicians SP 18 OP 23 DO 10.1370/afm.2757 VO 20 IS 1 A1 Linda Zittleman A1 Kristen Curcija A1 Donald E. Nease, Jr A1 Mary Fisher A1 L. Miriam Dickinson A1 John F. Thomas A1 Ashley Espinoza A1 Christin Sutter A1 Jennifer Ancona A1 Jodi Summers Holtrop A1 John M. Westfall YR 2022 UL http://www.annfammed.org/content/20/1/18.abstract AB PURPOSE Evidence supports treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) with buprenorphine in primary care practices (PCPs). Barriers that slow implementation of this treatment include inadequately trained staff. This study aimed to increase the number of rural PCPs providing OUD treatment with buprenorphine. This evaluation describes the impact of a practice team training on the implementation and delivery of OUD treatment with buprenorphine in PCPs of rural Colorado.METHODS Implementing Technology and Medication Assisted Treatment Team Training in Rural Colorado (IT MATTTRs) was a multilevel implementation study that included a practice-focused intervention to improve awareness, adoption, and use of buprenorphine treatment for OUD. Participating PCP teams received the IT MATTTRs Practice Team Training and support. Practices’ implementation of treatment components was assessed before and after training. Practice-reported and population-level data from the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program were obtained to describe changes in delivery of treatment after training.RESULTS Forty-two practices received team training. Practices reported an average of 4.7 treatment-related components in place at baseline compared with 13.0 at 12-month follow-up (F[2,56] = 31.17, P <.001). The proportion of participating practices providing or referring patients for treatment increased from 18.8% to 74.4%. The increase in number of people with a prescription for buprenorphine was significantly greater in the study region over a 4-year period compared with the rest of the state (Wald χ2 = 15.73, P <.001).CONCLUSIONS The IT MATTTRs training for PCP teams in OUD treatment with buprenorphine addressed elements beyond clinician waiver training to make implementation feasible and effectively increased implementation and delivery of this treatment in rural Colorado.