Assessment of primary care team-based learning sessions for opioid use disorder.

Background and objectives: Often patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) do not receive needed treatment; in part, this is due to the lack of available clinicians who treat OUD. To address the workforce gap, this study assessed OUD-related training for physicians and healthcare team members using the Project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes® (Project ECHO) model in a primary care, team-based setting.

Methods: Twelve 1-h virtual Project ECHO sessions were held from April 2023 through March 2024. Twenty practices and 130 participants participated. Baseline and endpoint surveys, and brief post-session surveys were collected. Descriptive statistics, non-parametric tests, and Likert scales were used for survey questions. Analyses were performed at the group and individual level, and by role over time, using Mann-Whitney U tests, Wilcoxon Signed Rank tests, and Quade's ANCOVA, respectively. Sensitivity analyses were also completed.

Results: Participants self-reported confidence and knowledge significantly increased at the individual, group, and role level. The greatest increases were seen on the topics of treating patients with fentanyl or co-occurring hepatitis C, office-based treatments, and behavioral health/counseling.

Discussion and conclusions: Primary care team-based educational models have the potential to increase confidence and knowledge among participants, which may contribute to bridging care gaps for patients with OUD.

Scientific significance: To our knowledge, this is one of the first studies to use Project ECHO across clinical teams. This study demonstrates that accessible team-based learning can strengthen self-reported confidence and knowledge and potentially contribute to increased role recognition, and strengthen the approach to opioid use disorder patient care.