NYU Langone’s Health Evaluation and Analytics Lab works on a range of research projects. Below are samples of our projects studying different treatment and prevention programs, care models and trends, and other strategies to improve health outcomes.

Evaluation of the Telepsychiatry Project in Shelters

This project investigates the implementation and benefits of providing telepsychiatry services at three shelters in New York City. Our research team is conducting interviews with shelter staff, psychiatrists, and collaborators at the New York City Department of Homeless Services to assess the acceptability, strengths, and barriers to implementing the telepsychiatry program. We also examine healthcare utilization among individuals at the treatment shelters compared with statistically matched comparison group drawn from the Medicaid data. This project is funded by the Helmsley Foundation.

Evaluation of the HealthySteps Program

Through collaboration with the Zero to Three organization, this project utilizes data provided by participating sites and New York State Medicaid data to study how the HealthySteps program benefits infants and their mothers. HealthySteps is an evidence- and team-based pediatric primary care program that promotes the health, wellbeing, and school readiness of babies and toddlers, with an emphasis on families living in low-income communities. The research team is using Medicaid data to examine changes in healthcare utilization, with outcomes ranging from hospitalizations to well-child visits. The team also assesses trends for HealthySteps recipients as compared to other families throughout New York City. This project is funded by the Zero to Three National Office.

Coaching Performance-Driven Practice Change in the Context of Value-Based Purchasing Under New York Medicaid

Conducted in partnership among NYU Grossman School of Medicine, University of Connecticut, and the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS), the Coaching for Addiction Recovery Enhancement (CARE) study tests protocols and tools for facilitating measure-driven quality improvement (MDQI) opioid use disorder care in outpatient treatment clinics in New York State. The study tests clinic-level interventions that use external facilitators to guide training on data-driven management, patient-centered care and medication for opioid use disorder use, and use of electronic tools for shared decision making and patient progress monitoring. A total of 30 clinics have been recruited, and the study employs a stepped-wedge randomized control model to test the effectiveness of MDQI staggered into six cohorts/timepoints. This project is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

Organizational Response to Change in Addictions Treatment

Conducted in partnership with the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS), this project utilizes both quantitative and qualitative methods to study how the addiction treatment system in New York State has adapted to policy and practice changes in recent years. The research team is using Medicaid and OASAS data to examine short- and long-term changes in patterns of care (e.g., use of telehealth and take-home medication leniency) and identify the impact on health outcomes. The team will interview top- and bottom-performing clinics to ascertain organizational factors associated with a more successful response to treatment practice changes and better quality of care. This project is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

Organizational Factors Associated with Quality of Care for Transition-Age Adults with Substance Use Disorder in New York State

Conducted in partnership with the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS), this mixed-methods study combines quantitative and qualitative data to explore ways to enhance the quality of SUD treatment for transition-age adults (18- to 25-year-olds). Using NYS Medicaid data and OASAS statewide treatment registry data (Client Data System), we explore how individual, treatment program organizational, and community-level factors influence treatment outcomes, specifically focusing on the use of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), toxicology screenings, treatment adherence and retention, as well as adverse event outcomes such as overdose. In addition, we draw on semi-structured qualitative interviews with prescribers to explore the underlying patterns, barriers, values, and beliefs shaping their MOUD prescribing practices for transition-age adults. We also interview transition-age adults with varying SUD treatment histories, to examine their experiences within and outside of the SUD treatment system, as well as barriers accessing and successfully engaging in treatment. This study is funded through the National Institute of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

Advancing Person- Centered Care and Quality Measurement in New York State’s Substance Use Disorder Treatment System

The Person-Centered Quality Measurement and Management in a System for Addictions Treatment in New York State (QM2) study consists of three projects. The projects build upon one another from measure development and validation to implementing and testing an intervention in a randomized trial to better understand its impact on treatment performance and outcomes throughout substance use disorder providers in New York State. Informed by patient and stakeholder interviews, and administrative data, the intervention consisting of a curriculum and measurement and management strategy is implemented across 34 providers. Throughout the intervention, enrolled clinics will be compared to a treatment-as-usual (TAU) cohort not receiving the intervention to track outcomes and the effectiveness of the proposed strategy. This study is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

Level of Care Determination Tool

Conducted in partnership with the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS), the Level of Care for Alcohol and Drug Treatment Referral (LOCADTR) 3.0 is a web-based tool to assist addiction treatment providers, Medicaid managed care plans, and other referral sources in determining the most appropriate level of care for a client with a substance use disorder, problem gambling disorder, or both. The research team conducts evaluations of LOCADTR modules, develops quality metrics, and supports ongoing deployment of the modules.

Clinics Optimizing Methadone Take-Homes

Researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine are collaborating with the New York Office of Addiction Services and Supports, Weill Cornell Medicine, and the University of Connecticut to test an intervention to improve take-home methadone practices at opioid treatment programs. Learn more about this study, called Clinics Optimizing Methadone Take-Homes (COMET), which is being supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.