Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Study (MOUD Study)

In 2016, 2.1 million people in the United States suffered from an opioid use disorder (OUD) related to prescription opioids and 262,000 had an OUD related to heroin. Common treatment options for OUD include medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) (including methadone, buprenorphine, naltrexone) and counseling without medication.

CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control is conducting a study of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) that will examine how health and other patient outcomes vary across the three types of medications used in MOUD and for patients receiving counseling only treatment. Patient, site, and provider characteristics will also be examined to determine how they may impact health and other outcomes.

The MOUD study will answer key questions about:

• outcomes associated with treatment using methadone, buprenorphine, or naltrexone, as well as counseling without medication,
• treatment program factors associated with positive outcomes,
• patient characteristics associated with positive outcomes, and
• health-related quality of life for patients.

Patients from around the United States will be included

CDC is planning to enroll over 1,188 patients in approximately 65 sites throughout the country.  All sites are outpatient treatment facilities, including opioid treatment programs, hospital and university-based treatment sites, federally qualified health centers, and primary care facilities. Patients will be asked to participate in the study for two years. Individual treatment site information will not be released to protect patient and staff privacy.

Cities included in the study:

• Began site recruitment

• Began enrolling patients and start surveys

• Continue surveys and focus groups

• Final analyses conducted

More information on:

• Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD)external icon
• Find Help & Treatmentexternal icon
• Preventing Opioid Overdose Deaths