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Richardson C, Daniels K, Confer A, Saxon AJ, Gordon AJ, Liberto J, Albanese AP, Renner J, Edens E, Kennedy AJ. Internal Medicine Resident Addiction Training at the Veteran's Health Administration: A Qualitative Evaluation of Site Directors' Response to the 2022 ACGME Requirements. J Gen Intern Med 2024; 39:1393-1399. [PMID: 38302815 PMCID: PMC11169109 DOI: 10.1007/s11606-024-08639-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Substance use disorders (SUDs) are prevalent in the USA yet remain dramatically undertreated. To address this care gap, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) approved revisions to the Program Requirements for Graduate Medical Education (GME) in Internal Medicine, effective July 1, 2022, requiring addiction medicine training for all internal medicine (IM) residents. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is a clinical training site for many academic institutions that sponsor IM residencies. This focus group project evaluated VHA IM residency site directors' perspectives about providing addiction medical education within VHA IM training sites. OBJECTIVE To better understand the current state, barriers to, and facilitators of IM resident addiction medicine training at VHA sites. DESIGN This was a qualitative evaluation based on semi-structured video-based focus groups. PARTICIPANTS Participants were VHA IM site directors based at a VHA hospital or clinic throughout the USA. APPROACH Focus groups were conducted using a semi-structured group interview guide. Two investigators coded each focus group independently, then met to create a final adjudicated coding scheme. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes. KEY RESULTS Forty-three participants from 38 VHA sites participated in four focus groups (average size: 11 participants). Six themes were identified within four pre-defined categories. Current state of training: most VHA sites offered no formal training in addiction medicine for IM residents. Barriers: addiction experts are often located outside of IM settings, and ACGME requirements were non-specific. Facilitators: clinical champions help support addiction training. Desired next steps: participants desired incentives to train or hire local champions and a pre-packaged didactic curriculum. CONCLUSIONS Developing competent clinical champions and leveraging VHA addiction specialists from non-IM settings would create more addiction training opportunities for IM trainees at VHA sites. These insights can likely be applied to IM training at non-VHA sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Richardson
- VA Puget Sound Healthcare System, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Karin Daniels
- VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Andrea Confer
- VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Andrew J Saxon
- VA Puget Sound Healthcare System, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Adam J Gordon
- Vulnerable Veteran Innovative Patient-Aligned-Care-Team (VIP) Initiative, Informatics, Decision-Enhancement, and Analytic Sciences (IDEAS) Center, Salt Lake City Health Care System, Program for Addiction Research, Clinical Care, Knowledge, and Advocacy (PARCKA), University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Joseph Liberto
- Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Substance Use Disorders, Veterans Health Administration, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Anthony P Albanese
- VA Northern California Healthcare System, UC Davis, School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - John Renner
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ellen Edens
- VA Connecticut Healthcare System, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Amy J Kennedy
- VA Puget Sound Healthcare System, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.
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Percy A, Kelley AT, Valentino N, Butz A, Baylis JD, Suo Y, Gordon AJ, Jones AL. Care Practices of Mental Health Clinical Pharmacist Practitioners Within an Interdisciplinary Primary Care Model for Patients With Substance Use Disorders. Subst Abus 2023; 44:330-336. [PMID: 37840212 PMCID: PMC10773467 DOI: 10.1177/08897077231198679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Clinical pharmacist practitioners (CPPs) play an increasingly important role in interdisciplinary care for patients with substance use disorders (SUDs). However, CPPs' scope of practice varies substantially across clinics and settings. OBJECTIVES We sought to describe CPP practices and activities within an interdisciplinary, team-based primary care clinic dedicated to treat Veterans with histories of substance use disorders, experience of homelessness, high medical complexity, and other vulnerabilities. METHODS We conducted a retrospective cohort study of CPP activities using Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) administrative data in 2019. RESULTS CPPs provided care for 228 patients, including 766 in-clinic visits, 341 telephone visits, and 626 chart reviews, with an average of 2.5 hours spent per patient per year. Patients seen by CPPs frequently experience mental health conditions and SUDs, including depression (66%), post-traumatic stress disorder (52%), opioid use disorder (OUD) (45%), and alcohol use disorder (44%). CPPs managed buprenorphine medications for OUD or chronic pain in 76 patients (33%). Most CPP interventions (3330 total) were for SUDs (33%), mental health conditions (24%), and pain management (24%), with SUD interventions including medication initiation, dose changes, discontinuations and monitoring. As part of opioid risk mitigation efforts, CPPs queried the state's prescription drug monitoring program 769 times and ordered 59 naloxone kits and 661 lab panels for empaneled patients. CONCLUSION CPPs managed a high volume of vulnerable patients and provided complex care within an interdisciplinary primary care team. Similar CPP roles could be implemented in other primary care settings to increase access to SUD treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annette Percy
- Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program, Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Center and Clinics, White City, OR, USA
- Vulnerable Veteran Innovative Patient-Aligned Care Team (VIP), VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - A Taylor Kelley
- Vulnerable Veteran Innovative Patient-Aligned Care Team (VIP), VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- Program for Addiction Research, Clinical Care, Knowledge, and Advocacy (PARCKA), Division of Epidemiology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Natalie Valentino
- Vulnerable Veteran Innovative Patient-Aligned Care Team (VIP), VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Amy Butz
- Vulnerable Veteran Innovative Patient-Aligned Care Team (VIP), VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Jacob D Baylis
- Vulnerable Veteran Innovative Patient-Aligned Care Team (VIP), VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- Program for Addiction Research, Clinical Care, Knowledge, and Advocacy (PARCKA), Division of Epidemiology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Ying Suo
- Vulnerable Veteran Innovative Patient-Aligned Care Team (VIP), VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Adam J Gordon
- Vulnerable Veteran Innovative Patient-Aligned Care Team (VIP), VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- Program for Addiction Research, Clinical Care, Knowledge, and Advocacy (PARCKA), Division of Epidemiology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Audrey L Jones
- Vulnerable Veteran Innovative Patient-Aligned Care Team (VIP), VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- Program for Addiction Research, Clinical Care, Knowledge, and Advocacy (PARCKA), Division of Epidemiology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
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