# Remote observed dosing to improve Suboxone compliance in clinical practice

> **NIH NIH U34** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2020 · $241,500

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) is a major public health problem. Although several effective treatments that
mitigate withdrawal and promote abstinence have been developed and are widely used, physicians have
expressed hesitation in prescribing them due to misuse and diversion. The most recent of these treatments,
buprenorphine (Suboxone®), can be prescribed by physicians in private practice. While Suboxone® has a
lower abuse liability and decreased risk of overdose than methadone, compliance is low and diversion is an
ongoing problem. The goal of this project is to develop and test the preliminary efficacy of using remote
compliance monitoring in buprenorphine (Suboxone®) treatment for OUD. To that end, 40 subjects with OUD
will be recruited through the University of Pennsylvania's Treatment Research Center, an outpatient substance
abuse treatment facility. All subjects will receive a smartphone (and data plan); buprenorphine (Suboxone®)
(16 mg/day, adjusted as needed according to individual requirements); and counseling in the form of weekly
Medication Management (MM) for 12 weeks. Participants will be randomized into one of two groups: remote
compliance monitoring or an attention match group that mirrors current clinical care. Using an iterative process
we propose to develop an innovative, low cost, and scalable platform physicians can easily integrate into their
private practice. Findings from the study will be used to support an R01 application to test the use of remote
compliance monitoring in a larger prescription opiate-dependent sample in clinical practices. This methodology
has broad applications for increased compliance in office-based treatment for addiction and other chronic
medical conditions.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9982921
- **Project number:** 5U34DA045177-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** KYLE Matthew KAMPMAN
- **Activity code:** U34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $241,500
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-08-01 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9982921

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9982921, Remote observed dosing to improve Suboxone compliance in clinical practice (5U34DA045177-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-29 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9982921. Licensed CC0.

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