Contingency Management to Improve Medication for Opioid Use Disorder Continuation After the Emergency Department

NCT07129902 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 5P30GM149331-02
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 30
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Project Summary The goal of this pilot clinical trial is to assess contingency management (CM) for increasing attendance at outpatient clinics after Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) prescription and clinic referral occurred in the hospital Emergency Department (ED).

• The researchers will compare usual care (UC)+CM to UC alone to see if 1) CM works to promote MOUD clinic attendance after discharge from the ED and 2) demonstrate feasibility of providing CM in the ED and outpatient MOUD clinic settings.
• Researchers will randomize 30 adults who started MOUD in the ED into two conditions. These conditions consist of (A) UC alone: A referral to an outpatient buprenorphine or methadone provider with reminders from STAR program staff or (B) UC+CM: UC plus financial incentives dependent on MOUD clinic attendance to receive an MOUD prescription. The primary outcome of interest is the number of participants who receive their first MOUD prescription from the outpatient clinic after discharge from the ED in UC+CM compared to the UC-only condition. A secondary outcome will be the proportion of participants who kept attending outpatient MOUD treatment by the end of the 30-day study period between UC+CM and UC conditions. An exploratory outcome will be biochemically-verified illicit opioid abstinence measured at day 30.

Conditions

Opioid Use Disorder

Keywords

contingency management; medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD); emergency departments; opioid use disorder

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Intake at outpatient MOUD clinic

  The proportion of participants who complete their initial (intake) outpatient MOUD clinic appointment after discharge from the emergency department.

  30 days

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Attendance at outpatient MOUD clinic

  30 days

Study Arms (2)

Contingency Management

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants assigned to this arm will receive incentives when they complete their first outpatient MOUD clinic visit and when they complete subsequent visits to pick up their MOUD prescription for the 30-day study period.

Behavioral: Contingency Management; Behavioral: Usual care as prescribed by the ED physicians

Usual Care

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

All participants will receive standard outpatient care at their clinic.

Behavioral: Usual care as prescribed by the ED physicians

Interventions

Contingency Management BEHAVIORAL

Participants in the active arm will receive payment (monetary incentive) contingent on outpatient MOUD treatment attendance.

Contingency Management

Usual care as prescribed by the ED physicians BEHAVIORAL

All participants will receive standard outpatient care at their clinic.

Contingency Management; Usual Care

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• STAR referral to outpatient clinic (Addiction Treatment Center and Chittenden Clinic) with prescription for buprenorphine or methadone.
• Age ≥18 years.
• Provide informed consent.

You may not qualify if:

• Pending incarceration in the next 30 days.
• Plan to leave the area (Burlington/Chittenden County) in the next 30 days.
• Physical, health, or structural challenge that prevents attendance at outpatient clinic.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Vermont: lead
• National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of Vermont Medical Center

Burlington, Vermont, 05405, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Opioid-Related Disorders; Emergencies

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Narcotic-Related Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Mental Disorders; Disease Attributes; Pathologic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Officials

• Eric A Thrailkill, Ph.D.

  University of Vermont

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Eric A Thrailkill, Ph.D.

CONTACT

602-291-7311; eric.thrailkill@uvm.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 8, 2025
• First Posted: August 19, 2025
• Study Start: September 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): October 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): October 31, 2026
• Last Updated: August 19, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-08

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)