National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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- Access to Care (6)
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AHRQ Research Studies
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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 13 of 13 Research Studies DisplayedDecker S, Dworsky M, Gibson TB
AHRQ Author: Decker S
The Impact of the Affordable Care Act Insurance Expansions on Opioid-Related Emergency Department Visits.
The authors leveraged ACA coverage expansions, including Medicaid expansion and Marketplaces, to study the impact of health insurance on opioid-related emergency department (ED) visits. They used ZIP-code–level ED utilization data from HCUP’s State Inpatient Databases (SID) and State Emergency Department Databases (SEDD) for 29 states. They found evidence of a dose-response relationship between pre-ACA uninsured and changes in ED visit rates in both expansion and non-expansion states: areas with higher uninsured rates prior to ACA saw larger reductions in opioid-related ED visits after the ACA took effect. The authors concluded that these findings suggest that increased insurance coverage may to help mitigate the opioid crisis.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Decker S, Dworsky M, Gibson TB .
The Impact of the Affordable Care Act Insurance Expansions on Opioid-Related Emergency Department Visits.
American Journal of Health Economics 2023 Sum; 9(3):405–34..
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Opioids, Policy, Health Insurance, Emergency Department, Access to Care, Medicaid, Healthcare Utilization
Grove LR, Rao N, Domino ME
Are North Carolina clinicians delivering opioid use disorder treatment to Medicaid beneficiaries?
This study’s goal was to inform efforts to increase prescriptions of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) among Medicaid beneficiaries. A retrospective study of North Carolina licensed physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners was conducted to estimate Medicaid participation prevalence among clinicians authorized to prescribe buprenorphine and to estimate the association between clinician characteristics and OUD care delivery to Medicaid beneficiaries. Outcomes looked for were indicators of any Medicaid professional claims and Medicaid claims data for buprenorphine and naltrexone. Licensure data from 2018 was merged with 2019 US Drug Enforcement Administration to identify clinicians who used the DEA waiver required to prescribe buprenorphine (n = 1714). Services by waivered clinicians to Medicare beneficiaries ranged from 67% of behavioral health clinicians to 82.9% of specialist physicians. Prevalence of prescribing buprenorphine to Medicaid beneficiaries ranged from 30.3% among specialist physicians to 51.6% among behavioral health clinicians.
AHRQ-funded; HS000032.
Citation: Grove LR, Rao N, Domino ME .
Are North Carolina clinicians delivering opioid use disorder treatment to Medicaid beneficiaries?
Addiction 2022 Nov;117(11):2855-63. doi: 10.1111/add.15854..
Keywords: Opioids, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Health, Vulnerable Populations, Medication, Access to Care, Medicaid
Meiselbach MK, Drake C, Saloner B
Medicaid managed care: access to primary care providers who prescribe buprenorphine.
This study examined variation in access to in-network buprenorphine-prescribing primary care providers that can treat opioid use disorder among Medicaid managed care enrollees. Approximately 32.2% of Medicaid enrollees had fewer than one in-network network buprenorphine-prescribing primary care providers per 100,000 county residents. There was on average a greater number of in-network buprenorphine-prescribing primary care providers in states with higher compared with lower overdose death rates, but most enrollees lived in areas with a shortage of these providers. The authors found that a 25 percent higher network participation rate by prescribers compared with nonprescribers could improve the probability that enrollees see a prescriber by approximately 25 percent.
AHRQ-funded; HS000029.
Citation: Meiselbach MK, Drake C, Saloner B .
Medicaid managed care: access to primary care providers who prescribe buprenorphine.
Health Aff 2022 Jun;41(6):901-10. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2021.01719..
Keywords: Medicaid, Primary Care, Access to Care, Medication, Care Management, Opioids, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Health
Auty SG, Griffith KN
Medicaid expansion and drug overdose mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.
This study examined trends in overdose mortality nationally and by state Medicaid expansion status from 2013 to 2020. Using data from the CDC’s WONDER database, findings showed that the increase in drug or opioid overdose deaths experienced during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic was similar in states with and without Medicaid expansion.
AHRQ-funded; HS026395.
Citation: Auty SG, Griffith KN .
Medicaid expansion and drug overdose mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.
Drug Alcohol Depend 2022 Mar 1;232:109340. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2022.109340..
Keywords: COVID-19, Medicaid, Opioids, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Health, Mortality, Public Health
Samples H, Williams AR, Crystal S
Impact of long-term buprenorphine treatment on adverse health care outcomes In Medicaid.
The optimal, or even minimum, duration of medication treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) needed to improve long-term outcomes has not been established empirically. As a result, health plans set potentially restrictive treatment standards to guide benefits and payment. To address this gap, the investigators used a National Quality Forum measure for OUD medication treatment duration (180 days) to examine the impact of longer treatment on health care outcomes within a key population of Medicaid enrollees.
AHRQ-funded; HS023258; HS021112.
Citation: Samples H, Williams AR, Crystal S .
Impact of long-term buprenorphine treatment on adverse health care outcomes In Medicaid.
Impact of long-term buprenorphine treatment on adverse health care outcomes In Medicaid..
Keywords: Medication, Substance Abuse, Opioids, Medicaid, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Evidence-Based Practice, Outcomes
Springer R, Marino M,, Bailey SR
Prescription opioid use patterns, use disorder diagnoses and addiction treatment receipt after the 2014 Medicaid expansion in Oregon.
This study compared the prevalence of receipt of opioid prescriptions and opioid use disorder (OUD), along with time from OUD diagnosis to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) receipt between Oregon residents who had been continuously insured by Medicaid, were newly insured after Medicaid expansion in 2014 or returned to Medicaid coverage after expansion.
AHRQ-funded; HS024270.
Citation: Springer R, Marino M,, Bailey SR .
Prescription opioid use patterns, use disorder diagnoses and addiction treatment receipt after the 2014 Medicaid expansion in Oregon.
Addiction 2019 Oct;114(10):1775-84. doi: 10.1111/add.14667..
Keywords: Opioids, Medication, Substance Abuse, Medicaid, Practice Patterns, Health Insurance, Access to Care, Policy
Cochran G, Cole ES, Warwick J
Rural access to MAT in Pennsylvania (RAMP): a hybrid implementation study protocol for medication assisted treatment adoption among rural primary care providers.
This paper reports the design and protocol of an implementation study seeking to advance availability of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder (OUD) in rural Pennsylvania counties for patients insured by Medicaid in primary care settings. Results showed an urgent need in the US to expand access to high quality, evidence-based OUD treatment, particularly in rural areas where capacity is limited for service delivery, in order to improve patient health and protect lives. Further, results of this study will provide needed evidence in the field for appropriate methods for implementing MAT among a large number of rural primary care providers.
AHRQ-funded; HS025072.
Citation: Cochran G, Cole ES, Warwick J .
Rural access to MAT in Pennsylvania (RAMP): a hybrid implementation study protocol for medication assisted treatment adoption among rural primary care providers.
Addict Sci Clin Pract 2019 Aug 1;14(1):25. doi: 10.1186/s13722-019-0154-4..
Keywords: Opioids, Substance Abuse, Rural Health, Medication, Access to Care, Implementation, Primary Care, Healthcare Delivery, Medicaid
Cole ES, DiDomenico E, Cochran G
The role of primary care in improving access to medication-assisted treatment for rural Medicaid enrollees with opioid use disorder.
The authors examined the degree to which rural residents with opioid use disorder (OUD) are engaged with primary care providers (PCPs); they also described the role of rural PCPs in medication-assisted treatment (MAT) delivery, and estimated the association between enrollee distance to MAT prescribers and MAT utilization. They concluded that PCP utilization among rural Medicaid enrollees diagnosed with OUD is high, presenting a potential intervention point to treat OUD, particularly if the enrollee's PCP is located nearer than their MAT prescriber.
AHRQ-funded; HS025072.
Citation: Cole ES, DiDomenico E, Cochran G .
The role of primary care in improving access to medication-assisted treatment for rural Medicaid enrollees with opioid use disorder.
J Gen Intern Med 2019 Jun;34(6):936-43. doi: 10.1007/s11606-019-04943-6..
Keywords: Opioids, Substance Abuse, Rural Health, Medication, Access to Care, Implementation, Primary Care, Healthcare Delivery, Medicaid
Samples H, Williams AR, Olfson M
Risk factors for discontinuation of buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorders in a multi-state sample of Medicaid enrollees.
The purpose of this study was to examine duration of buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) following the initiation of treatment in order to identify risk factors for early discontinuation. Researchers analyzed insurance claims from the MarketScan multi-state Medicaid database for 2013 through 2015; their sample included adults aged 18-64 years who had an OUD diagnosis 6 months before initiating buprenorphine treatment. More than 1/4 of the sample discontinued buprenorphine in the first month of treatment, and most of the sample discontinued before 180 days. Risk factors for discontinuation were associated with significantly lower odds of treatment retention for at least 180 days. The study concludes that there is need to implement treatment models that address barriers to treatment retention more effectively.
AHRQ-funded; HS021112.
Citation: Samples H, Williams AR, Olfson M .
Risk factors for discontinuation of buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorders in a multi-state sample of Medicaid enrollees.
J Subst Abuse Treat 2018 Dec;95:9-17. doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2018.09.001..
Keywords: Medicaid, Medication, Opioids, Risk, Substance Abuse
Olfson M, Wall M, Wang S
Service use preceding opioid-related fatality.
The authors analyzed health service patterns before opioid-related death among nonelderly individuals in the Medicaid program, focusing on decedents with and without past-year diagnoses of non-cancer chronic pain. They found that persons dying of opioid-related causes, particularly those who were diagnosed with chronic pain conditions, commonly received services related to drug use disorders and mental disorders in the last year of life, though opioid use disorder diagnoses near the time of death were rare.
AHRQ-funded; HS021112.
Citation: Olfson M, Wall M, Wang S .
Service use preceding opioid-related fatality.
Am J Psychiatry 2017 Jun;175(6):538-44. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.17070808.
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Keywords: Chronic Conditions, Opioids, Medicaid, Mortality, Substance Abuse
Ringwalt C, Roberts AW, Gugelmann H
Racial disparities across provider specialties in opioid prescriptions dispensed to Medicaid beneficiaries with chronic noncancer pain.
The purpose of this study was to examine differences across providers’ specialties in prescriptions filled by white and black Medicaid beneficiaries with chronic noncancer pain (CNCP). It found that race-based differences in beneficiaries’ dispensed opioid prescriptions were more prominent among patients of specialists in obstetrics and gynecology and internal medicine, as well as general practitioners/family medicine physicians.
AHRQ-funded; HS000032.
Citation: Ringwalt C, Roberts AW, Gugelmann H .
Racial disparities across provider specialties in opioid prescriptions dispensed to Medicaid beneficiaries with chronic noncancer pain.
Pain Med 2015 Apr;16(4):633-40. doi: 10.1111/pme.12555..
Keywords: Chronic Conditions, Disparities, Medicaid, Medication, Opioids, Pain, Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Werth SR, Sachdeva N, Roberts AW
North Carolina Medicaid recipient management lock-in program: the pharmacist's perspective.
The objectives of this study were (a) evaluate pharmacists’ perceptions of the implementation of the North Carolina (NC) recipient management lock-in program (MLIP) and (b) determine how the beliefs and attitudes of pharmacists could promote or inhibit its success. It concluded that, although possible improvements were identified, the NC MLIP has strong potential for success as it utilizes pharmacists’ medication gate-keeping role, while minimizing the effort required for successful implementation.
AHRQ-funded; HS000032.
Citation: Werth SR, Sachdeva N, Roberts AW .
North Carolina Medicaid recipient management lock-in program: the pharmacist's perspective.
J Manag Care Spec Pharm 2014 Nov;20(11):1122-9..
Keywords: Medicaid, Medication, Opioids, Provider: Pharmacist, Substance Abuse
Desai RJ, Hernandez-Diaz S, Bateman BT
Increase in prescription opioid use during pregnancy among Medicaid-enrolled women.
The researchers reported the prevalence of prescription opioid use and evaluated the trends in a large cohort of Medicaid-enrolled pregnant women. They observed high and increasing number of filled prescriptions for opioids during pregnancy among Medicaid-enrolled women and recommended further safety evaluations of these drugs and their effects on the developing fetus.
AHRQ-funded; HS018533.
Citation: Desai RJ, Hernandez-Diaz S, Bateman BT .
Increase in prescription opioid use during pregnancy among Medicaid-enrolled women.
Obstet Gynecol 2014 May;123(5):997-1002. doi: 10.1097/aog.0000000000000208.
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Keywords: Healthcare Utilization, Medicaid, Medication, Opioids, Pregnancy