Towards Personalized Medicine in Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD): Analyses of Veterans Health Administration Data to Delineate Patient Characteristics Associated with Treatment Outcomes and Successful MOUD Discontinuation

Over 1 million Americans are receiving medication treatment for opioid use disorder (MOUD). MOUD includes maintenance treatment with methadone, buprenorphine/naloxone, or extended-release naltrexone. MOUD reduces overdoses and drug use. However, MOUD retention is essential to attaining these outcomes. Unfortunately, an estimated 50% or fewer meet the minimum 6-month standard duration for treatment established by the National Quality Forum. This study seeks to rapidly and cost-effectively provide insight into how MOUD retention could be improved by personalizing care at the individual level based on patient characteristics. The output of this project will be the identification of those patient characteristics associated with improved MOUD retention for different types of MOUD. We will also identify which patient characteristics are associated with successful MOUD discontinuation without relapse.