Contact: Caroline Cornish
207-662-5146 / caroline.cornish@mainehealth.org
PORTLAND, Maine – The Department of Emergency Medicine at Maine Medical Center (MMC) has been chosen as one of 30 emergency department sites across the U.S. to participate in a study to compare the effectiveness of two buprenorphine delivery methods in patients with opioid use disorder. The NIDA Clinical Trials Network’s New England Consortium Node, in partnership with investigators at Yale University, is leading the study through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Helping to End Addiction Long-term Initiative (HEAL). MMC is expected to receive a grant sub-award of $470,000 over two years.
The study examines whether patients who are given an extended release, seven-day, injectable formulation of buprenorphine at the emergency department will stay in treatment longer than those given a seven-day supply of buprenorphine to take by mouth. All patients are set up with appointments at a medication assisted therapy center for follow up treatment within seven days.
“Clinical trials like this are how we improve treatment for this disease that is a challenge for so many people in our community,” said Michael Baumann, M.D., Chair of Emergency Medicine and the Principal Investigator of this study at MMC. “Our goal is to incorporate best practice into our interventions with patients and improve the level of care available for opioid use disorder.”
While patients must meet medical criteria to participate in the study, MMC’s Emergency Department will continue to serve as one of many pathways for patients to enroll in MaineHealth’s Integrated Medicated Assisted Treatment (IMAT) programs, regardless of a patient’s study eligibility. MaineHealth IMAT intensive treatment centers are located throughout southern, western and midcoast Maine.
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute On Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UG1DA015831. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
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About Maine Medical Center
Maine Medical Center (MMC), recognized as a Best Regional Hospital by U.S. News and World Report for 2019-2020, is a complete health care resource for the people of Greater Portland and the entire state, as well as northern New England. Incorporated in 1868, MMC is the state’s largest medical center, licensed for 637 beds and employing more than 9,600 people. MMC's unique role as both a community hospital and a referral center requires an unparalleled depth and breadth of services, including an active educational program and a world-class biomedical research center. As a nonprofit institution, Maine Medical Center provides nearly 23 percent of all the charity care delivered in Maine. MMC is part of the MaineHealth system, a growing family of health care services in northern New England. For more information, visit www.mmc.org.