# Patient-centered Quality Measurement for Opioid Use Disorder

> **NIH VA IK2** · VA SALT LAKE CITY HEALTHCARE SYSTEM · 2024 · —

## Abstract

BACKGROUND: Delivery of evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD)—especially medication
treatment (MOUD)—reduces morbidity and mortality and is the bedrock of OUD care. Yet fewer than half of
Veterans with OUD receive MOUD, and up to half who initiate treatment do not remain in treatment after 12
months. Access to treatment is a barrier that many interventions have addressed in recent years; however,
there is also evidence that many Veterans with access to treatment may not engage in care (i.e., seek care,
pursue treatment, adhere to treatment plan, follow up with a provider). Patient-centered care is a tenet of care
quality that can improve patient engagement but has not been measured for OUD care. Gaps identified in
patient-centered care for OUD could represent targets for quality improvement interventions that increase
patient engagement, improve treatment delivery, and reduce mortality. My study objective is to develop and
implement a quality measurement and quality improvement strategy that will improve patient-centered care for
Veterans with OUD. My long-term goal is to become an independent VA clinician-investigator with a focus on
improving healthcare access and quality for Veterans with OUD and other substance use disorders (SUDs).
SIGNIFICANCE/IMPACT: OUD prevalence, morbidity, and mortality among Veterans are disproportionate to
the general US population. To address this disparity, VA has expanded treatment access, but overall
engagement among affected Veterans remains low. The extent to which patient engagement is affected by the
quality of patient-centered care is not established because there are few quality measures for OUD, and most
are not patient-centric. Instead, current measures may disincentivize patient-centered care by measuring
aspects of care outside the full control of the provider (e.g., treatment initiation, adherence, and retention) and
favor treating patients already committed to recommended care over those who are not. VA has a track record
as a leader in both patient-centered care and SUD care that spans decades, making this study optimal for VA.
INNOVATION: This CDA-2 will measure the quality of patient-centered care through audio-recorded patient
visits (patient-collected audio). It will also incorporate the patient voice in defining a provider feedback
intervention to improve patient-centered care, through direct elicitation of patient preferences and partnership
with a Veteran Advisory Panel.
SPECIFIC AIMS: There are three aims in this study: (1) To assess performance of VA OUD providers on
measures of patient-centered care and the association of patient-centered care performance with patient
engagement; (2) To identify preferences, needs, and values of Veterans with OUD that impact their willingness
to engage in care; and (3) To develop and implement a provider performance audit and feedback intervention
based on patient-centered measures of OUD care quality.
METHODOLOGY: I will use patient-collec...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10748271
- **Project number:** 1IK2HX003531-01A2
- **Recipient organization:** VA SALT LAKE CITY HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
- **Principal Investigator:** Alan Taylor Kelley
- **Activity code:** IK2 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-08-01 → 2029-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10748271

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10748271, Patient-centered Quality Measurement for Opioid Use Disorder (1IK2HX003531-01A2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-12 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10748271. Licensed CC0.

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