CHESS Health Selected for Nationwide NIDA Study on Medication for Opioid Use Disorder
Connections App to be part of Study Encompassing 1,630 Participants and 18 Treatment Centers
Rochester, New York, June 23, 2020— CHESS Health, the leading provider of technology for the addiction management lifecycle, announced today its eRecovery and eTherapy solutions will be included in a National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) study of medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD).
Funded through the Helping to End Addiction Long-termSM Initiative, or NIH HEAL InitiativeSM, a trans-agency effort to find scientific solutions to the opioid crisis, the study will be managed by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of NIH. The five-year clinical trial, organized through NIDA’s Clinical Trials Network, is a collaborative effort of researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine (John Rotrosen, MD), Harvard Medical School (Roger Weiss, MD), and the Columbia University Irving Medical Center (Edward V. Nunes, Jr., MD).
The main aims of the trial are to:
- Test strategies to improve retention in treatment on medications for patients seeking treatment for opioid use disorder (MOUD).
- Test strategies to improve outcomes among patients who have achieved stable remission on MOUD and want to discontinue MOUD.
- Develop predictive models of successful discontinuation of MOUD among patients who discontinue medication, based on patient characteristics, including duration of MOUD prior to discontinuation.
Patients stable on medication and who wish to taper and, ultimately, discontinue medication will be randomized to receive CHESS’ evidence-based Connections App plus medical management or medical management alone. They will also be randomized to receive different pharmacologic tapering strategies. The app will offer digital cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), peer support through moderated discussion groups, access to recovery resources, high-risk location warnings, recovery progress tracking, and appointment and medication reminders. The study will measure the difference in successful discontinuation from medication without relapse to opioid use with and without the Connections App.
“This national study is incredibly important in testing strategies for medication adherence and discontinuation,” said Hans Morefield, chief executive officer of CHESS Health. “We are proud that our eRecovery and eTherapy solutions will not only help the patients and care teams involved in this study, but that the research into the impact of the Connections App will also help providers and payers prioritize the use of technology with treatment.”
“We’re developing and testing strategies to optimize treatment for patients who suffer from OUD and to help them achieve stable remission,” said John Rotrosen, MD, New York Node, NYU Grossman School of Medicine. “Technology is playing an ever greater role in healthcare, and is a key focus of our research. We are thrilled that CHESS Health has partnered with us to provide their innovative eRecovery app to our participants.”
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About CHESS Health
CHESS Health is the developer of the leading, evidence-based telehealth platform supporting the entire addiction management life cycle. The platform facilitates digital handoffs for getting more patients into treatment (eIntervention); improves outcomes through digital CBT (eTherapy) and reduces relapse and supports long term recovery (eRecovery). For providers, the CHESS platform grows patient volume through more successful referrals, improves treatment delivery, and improves treatment outcomes, including reduced relapse. Health plans and governments also benefit from more individuals in treatment and better outcomes; with the CHESS platform, they also gain analytic insights into provider performance. CHESS Health has received recognition from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP), the Journal of Substance Abuse and the Surgeon General. For more information, visit www.chess.health.
