# HEALing Measurement Center: Enhancing Opioid Use Disorder Recovery through Measurement Based Care

> **NIH NIH RM1** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2024 · $1,446,895

## Abstract

Abstract
Opioid use disorder (OUD) remains a critical public health crisis in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Centers of
Excellence have been charged with providing opioid treatment, including medication for opioid use disorder
(MOUD), to enhance treatment access, promote recovery, and reduce the impact of fatal overdose throughout
the state. Despite efforts to improve access to evidence-based treatments for OUD such as medications and
integrated behavioral health services, national OUD and opioid involved overdose death rates remain
alarmingly high. Current MOUD interventions primarily targeting reduction in OUD symptoms have significant
dropout rates (20-50%) and result in remission of OUD for ~36 percent of individuals. The patients with co-
occurring substance use and mental health disorders are at greater risk for poor outcomes, often because they
have more complex treatment needs that are hard to identify, track, and respond to in real time. To potentially
improve OUD intervention outcomes, the overarching goal of the HEALing Measures Center at University of
Pittsburgh is to enhance the measurement, quality, and equity of care delivered in community opioid treatment
programs (OTPs) through sustained implementation of measurement-based care (MBC). Specifically, the
three proposed projects were designed to address the immediate concerns expressed by our partners
while simultaneously meeting critical research gaps. Research Plan 1 will develop an MBC
Implementation Blueprint including technical assistance, learning networks, and paperwork reduction
strategies. Research Plan 2 will demonstrate the fidelity and effectiveness of implementing enhanced MBC
implementation (MBC+) versus measurement as usual (MAU) via a stepped-wedge, hybrid type II
effectiveness-implementation trial. Research Plan 3 will demonstrate the clinical effectiveness of MBC+
relative to MAU for patients with co-occurring OUD and mental health diagnoses. The proposed study will
provide critical preliminary evidence regarding the role and significance of capitalizing on MBC in OUD
interventions, enhanced implementation of a sustainable, equitable, and effective MBC intervention via
implementation strategies that are co-designed with stakeholders (policymaker, payer, and OTP), and
alternative avenues to potentially enhance symptom-related outcomes and treatment retention of OUD
interventions with downstream societal, psychological, and public health benefits.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10933501
- **Project number:** 5RM1DA059395-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Arnie Paul Aldridge
- **Activity code:** RM1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $1,446,895
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-30 → 2028-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10933501

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10933501, HEALing Measurement Center: Enhancing Opioid Use Disorder Recovery through Measurement Based Care (5RM1DA059395-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10933501. Licensed CC0.

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