News & Media
Newly X-waivered Providers Want Clinical Mentorship
A new report from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and Vital Strategies explores barriers that prevent Michigan’s DATA 2000 waivered or X-waivered practitioners from treating more patients with opioid agonist medication buprenorphine, one of the most effective treatments for reducing opioid-related overdoses. The under-prescribing of buprenorphine treatment has been well documented, but researchers have not been able to pin down why. The Michigan report, based on a survey of 687 X-waivered providers in Michigan, suggests that providers’ lack of confidence in their ability to prescribe buprenorphine treatment is one contributing factor – especially among newly X-waivered providers.
When survey respondents were asked to identify their perceived barriers to prescribing buprenorphine treatment to more patients, two of the top five barriers were: 1) a lack of access to addiction medicine specialists or psychiatrists for patient care and 2) insufficient institutional leadership. These responses suggest that an expansion of support systems – including mentorship - could enable providers to prescribe buprenorphine treatment to more people with opioid use disorder. In an open response question, one respondent stated that they would be “more comfortable with a mentor who can walk me through the first couple of [patients].”
The report’s findings reinforce the findings of previous studies that found that physicians are more likely to prescribe buprenorphine treatment when they can lean on role-models within their institutions. To expand access to lifesaving buprenorphine treatment, it is essential to provide support to X-waivered providers – especially newly X-waivered providers. For the recently X-waivered providers who do not have access to experienced X-waivered providers in their institutions, there are formal networks in Michigan that can connect X-waivered providers to mentors:
- MI CARES: The MI CARES program is designed to support physicians in obtaining Addiction Medicine certification and introduce the fundamentals of Addiction Medicine to medical students. Medical students, residents, and physicians can enroll in the program through the online application.
- Michigan Opioid Collaborative: The Michigan Opioid Collaborative is an interdisciplinary team that supports providers and communities in expanding access to office-based substance use disorder treatment and improving the quality of care that patients with substance use disorders receive in Michigan. Providers can enroll in the program through filling out the Michigan Opioid Collaborative agreement. After completing enrollment, providers can submit a consultation request to receive help from Michigan Opioid Collaborative’s addiction specialists, psychiatrists, obstetrician-gynecologists, and family medicine providers regarding the treatment and management of opioid use disorders.
- Michigan Opioid Partnership: The Michigan Opioid Partnership is an initiative led by the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. The partnership provides administrative and technical assistance, trainings, and peer networking to medication for opioid use disorder providers in hospital emergency departments and jails. To access these services, providers can submit a request for technical assistance through Michigan Opioid Partnership’s online form.