Making opioid treatment programs patients can rely on

HEAL Initiative: Research to Foster an Opioid Use Disorder Treatment System Patients Can Count On

['FUNDING_OTHER'] · RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE · NIH-11176292

This project helps opioid treatment programs use clear quality measures, benchmarks, and practical feedback so people with opioid use disorder stay on medications like buprenorphine longer.

Quick facts

Phase['FUNDING_OTHER']
Study typeNih_funding
SexAll
SponsorRESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE (nih funded)
Locations1 site (RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, UNITED STATES)
Trial IDNIH-11176292 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this research studies

Researchers will partner with opioid treatment programs across selected counties and states to try different ways of giving clinics feedback on treatment retention and outcomes. Clinics will be randomly assigned in groups to receive different combinations of quality measures, benchmarking data, and practical guidance or coaching. The team will track patient treatment records to see whether these approaches help people stay on medications for opioid use disorder longer and reduce overdose risk. The study will also examine which features of the measures, the supports offered, and the degree of clinic control over changes make the feedback most effective.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Ideal candidates are people with opioid use disorder who receive care at participating opioid treatment programs and whose clinic agrees to include their treatment data in quality improvement efforts.

Not a fit: People not treated at participating clinics, not taking medications for opioid use disorder, or unwilling to have their de-identified care data used may not see direct benefits from this project.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this could help more people stay on life-saving medications longer and reduce overdose deaths by improving how clinics monitor and act on quality data.

How similar studies have performed: Audit-and-feedback approaches have improved care in other medical areas but have had limited testing in opioid treatment programs, so this applies known methods to a new, high-priority setting.

Where this research is happening

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, UNITED STATES

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.

View on NIH RePORTER →

Last reviewed 2026-05-15 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.