In 2007, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Bureau of Substance Use Services (MDPH BSAS) created the State Technical Assistance Treatment Expansion (STATE) OBAT program with the specific intent of integrating BMC's nurse care manager OBAT model into Community Health Centers (CHCs) across the Commonwealth.
In addition, the state funded BMC to provide all of the Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) to the original 14 sites funded by the STATE OBAT program. Within three years, expansion of BMC's OBAT model to 14 CHCs increased the number of physicians "waivered" (i.e., able to prescribe buprenorphine) by 375%.
At present, BMC provides TTA to approximately 40 community providers across the state and many others across the country. BMC staff have helped implement the OBAT model at CHCs state-wide, with a focus on expanding treatment to underserved areas and low-income communities. Types of TTA offered by BMC routinely include: on-site technical TTA to community providers, specialized trainings for addiction medicine providers (e.g., physicians, nurses, social workers) on a variety of topics, buprenorphine waiver trainings, 8-hour trainings for nurses on how to operationalize the OBAT model, certified addiction nurse exam review courses, and other TTA as requested. Since 2015, the State OBAT program has treated over 15,000 patients. See Table 1 for the full scope of trainings provided by our OBAT TTA program in 2016.
Table 1. OBAT Training and Technical Assistance |
2016 |
Number of patients treated through State OBAT Program (all health centers) |
10,432 |
Number of waiver trainings conducted |
7 |
Total Number of providers trained through Waiver Trainings |
522 |
Number of other trainings provided by BMC |
3 |
Total number of individuals trained through Other Trainings |
111 |
Number of trainings provided for DCF |
5 |
Total number of individuals trained through DCF trainings |
440 |
Number of Trainings provided by DCF and BMC Staff |
1 |
Total number of individuals trained by DCF and BMC Staff |
72 |
Number of CARN Review Trainings |
3 |
Total number of individuals trained in CARN Review Trainings |
330 |
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