# Technology Improving Success of Medication-Assisted Treatment in Primary Care

> **NIH NIH R42** · Q2I, LLC · 2020 · $837,803

## Abstract

Project Abstract
The opioid epidemic is the U.S.'s most widespread behavioral public health problem, with a higher number of
deaths due to drug overdose in 2016 compared to deaths due to HIV at the peak of the AIDS epidemic.
Medication assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder (OUD) is highly efficacious. However, only a
fraction of persons with OUD access MAT, and treatment non-adherence and drop out is common. There is a
dire need to improve systems to address these issues and to expand the use of MAT for many patients who
are out of care. This R44 STTR application responds to RFA-DA-19-020, “HEAL Initiative: America's Startups
and Small Businesses Build Technologies to Stop the Opioid Crisis.” It joins an outstanding scientific team at
UCLA and a small business that has developed, Opioid Addiction Recovery Support (OARS) -- a software
platform that by integrating with the Electronic Health Record (EHR) improves clinical management of patients
by primary care providers (PCPs) treating patients with OUD using MAT. OARS platform uses a dashboard to
show real-time measurement of patient achievements in recovery. It provides opportunities for patients to
interact with their PCPs, allowing for better connection to and support from their PCPs. OARS platform
features artificial intelligence to analyze information from the EHR and from patients to provide relapse risk
assessment for patients receiving MAT for OUD, an innovation that sets OARS apart from other software
solutions. The specific aim of Phase 1 of this STTR Fast Track proposal, is to modify the OARS platform for
use in primary care settings by conducting interviews with PCPs (N=20) and their patients with OUD (N=40) in
primary care settings to collect data on feasibility and acceptability of engaging with OARS to inform user-
centered design of OARS. The specific aims of Phase 2 of this STTR Fast Track proposal are to: (1) employ a
“stepped wedge” design to assess the effectiveness of OARS in improving opioid agonist treatment outcomes
across 6 treatment programs (N=200 treated patients) and (2) evaluate sustainability and return on investment
of OARS implementation across 6 treatment programs. A commercialization plan documents progress to date
for OARS platform and presents a market plan to improve both scale-up and quality of MAT services delivered
by PCPs in primary care, which is a major contribution to addressing the ongoing opioid epidemic.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10212519
- **Project number:** 4R42DA050398-02
- **Recipient organization:** Q2I, LLC
- **Principal Investigator:** Steven Paul Jenkins
- **Activity code:** R42 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $837,803
- **Award type:** 4N
- **Project period:** 2019-09-30 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10212519

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10212519, Technology Improving Success of Medication-Assisted Treatment in Primary Care (4R42DA050398-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10212519. Licensed CC0.

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