Determining factors that influence substance abuse in patients with significant comorbidities

Project Description

Substance abuse is a prevalent problem with high medical and social costs in the United States. Substance abuse disorders are difficult to treat but even more difficult in the presence of comorbidities such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, HIV, Hepatitis B/C. Medication assisted treatment (MAT) is the treatment of choice for many forms of substance abuse. Currently available forms of MAT include Antagonist, Partial Agonist and Full Agonist treatments. Each form of MAT has its advantages and disadvantages. There is currently little research to identify which treatment modality is most likely to work in patients with substance abuse who also have the presence of a significant comorbidity. This project will use claims data and available social determinant (SDOH) data to determine optimal treatment modality for different subsets of patients suffering from substance abuse in the presence of a significant comorbidity.

Project Objectives

This project will use HMS claims data to identify subsets of patients with substance abuse, comorbidities and possible SDOH factors for which MAT modality provides higher treatment success rates. Having an understanding of these subsets will allow initial selection of modalities more likely to result in successful treatment.