Recruiting

OUD Care

Sponsor:

Emory University

Code:

NCT05711056

Conditions

Opioid Use

Opioid Abuse

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Sociobehavioral Intervention

Study Details

Brief summary:

The overarching goal of this project is to increase the availability of OUD treatment in rural counties in the state of Georgia by using Emergency Department (ED)-based telehealth strategies to initiate MOUD and connect patients to treatment.

The investigators will implement a novel collaboration between rural EDs, medical toxicologists at the Georgia Poison Center (GPC), peer recovery coaches (PRCs) and RCOs throughout Georgia to bridge the gap between OUD treatment need in rural EDs and specialty physician availability at the GPC.

Research activities will be conducted during two broad phases, at three rural EDs in Georgia: planning and implementation. During the planning phase, aggregate data will be obtained to determine each ED's existing practices treating patients with OUD and opioid withdrawal. During the implementation phase, the researchers will prospectively study a poison center OUD consultation and PRC intervention as it is rolled out at each site, collecting participant-level data. Sites will be rolled into the implementation phase in a stepped-wedge fashion, so there will be times when some sites are in the planning phase while others are in the implementation phase.

Conditions

Opioid Use

Opioid Abuse

Study ID

NCT05711056

Start date

Aug 30, 2023

Status verified date

Oct, 2025

Completion date

Aug, 2026

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Aug, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 18 years or older
  • English speaking
  • Clinically sober
  • Medically and psychiatrically stable

Exclusion criteria:

  • Already receiving MAT or psychotherapy for OUD prior to ED arrival
  • Prior participation in the study
  • Unable to provide informed consent
  • If their clinical condition worsens such that continued participation would be considered unsafe in the opinion of the PRC or ED staff
  • Prisoners
  • Individuals who are not yet adults (infants, children, teenagers)
  • Cognitively impaired or Individuals with Impaired Decision-Making Capacity
  • Individuals who are not able to clearly understand English

Study Design

Enrollment

480 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Non randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Sociobehavioral program Group

A novel sociobehavioral collaborative program that will improve the health of individuals in rural areas by expanding access to MOUD through an ED- based telemedicine strategy. Researchers will prospectively study a poison center OUD consultation and peer recovery coach (PRC) intervention as it is rolled out at each site, collecting participant-level data at baseline, one week post intervention and 30 days post intervention.

no intervention: Control Group

Patients who are seen at a participating hospital prior to the initiation of the intervention will be considered controls.

Interventions

Sociobehavioral Intervention

Utilizes two primary evidence-based strategies:

  • Delivering OUD consultation via telemedicine, which has been demonstrated to be a safe and effective means for initiating MOUD with buprenorphine; and,
  • Incorporating psychosocial support in the form of PRC, whose involvement in patient care is associated with increased treatment retention and MOUD initiation.

Primary outcome measure

  • Change in number of patients who present with acute opioid withdrawal, acute opioid overdose, or requesting treatment for OUD (Opioid Use Disorder) [ Time Frame: Baseline, 3 months post intervention, and 1 year post intervention ]
  • Change in number of patients evaluated for MOUD (Medication for Opioid Use Disorder) [ Time Frame: Baseline, 3 months post intervention, and 1 year post intervention ]
  • Change in number of patients started on MOUD [ Time Frame: Baseline, 3 months post intervention, and 1 year post intervention ]
  • Change in number of patients discharged with a prescription for MOUD [ Time Frame: Baseline, 3 months post intervention, and 1 year post intervention ]
  • Change in number of patients linked to a local RCO (Recovery Community Organization) [ Time Frame: Baseline, 3 months post intervention, and 1 year post intervention ]
  • Change in number of patients seen at local RCO after ED discharge [ Time Frame: Baseline, 3 months post intervention, and 1 year post intervention ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Emily Kiernan, DO

412-519-4944emily.anne.kiernan@emory.edu

Locations

Georgia Poison Center

Recruiting

Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30303

Contacts

Emily Kiernan, DO

emily.anne.kiernan@emory.edu

More Information

Sponsor

Emory University

Last update posted

Oct 20, 2025

Last verified

Oct, 2025

Keywords

  • Opioid

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Emory University on 2025-10-20.