Overview
Altarum manages the Detroit Opioid Prevention Collaborative, a community initiative in partnership with the University of Michigan and The Detroit Wayne Mental Health Authority, which trains and educates a broad cross-section of professionals in the community who are central to addressing the opioid crisis, from clinicians prescribing opioids to law enforcement officers administering life-saving naloxone.
Our Approach
Altarum manages and evaluates all aspects of the program from training law enforcement officers and community organizations on how to administer naloxone to enrolling and registering pharmacies in Michigan’s naloxone Standing Order program. In addition, we lead the Collaborative’s work on responsible opioid prescribing. We conduct continuing healthcare education for providers on opioid prescribing and patient screening and referral for opioid misuse and abuse. Our continuing education offerings are nationally accredited and provide eligible clinicians 30 to 50 Performance Improvement AMA PRA Category 1™ credits and 20-25 MOC Part IV Improvement in Medical Practice credits.
We’re experts in integrating prescription monitoring programs into clinical practice, and are helping physicians in the Detroit area use the Michigan Automated Prescription System to promote responsible prescribing and identify patients at risk for opioid misuse.
Results
So far, we have trained 124 providers in 21 practices in the greater Detroit area on responsible opioid prescribing, including identification of patient risk for opioid misuse or abuse, patient follow-up, and use of the Michigan Automated Prescription System. We also engaged 21 clinicians in discussions to encourage them to obtain buprenorphine waivers and to advise and assist with prescribing. And we provided naloxone kits and training to 81 law enforcement officers and 19 community organizations, representing 489 people in the community on the front lines of the opioid crisis.
After our training, the percentage of patients prescribed opioids who were assessed for risk of opioid misuse or abuse increased by 77 points. And the percent of patients on opioids for more than three months who received a follow-up evaluation increased by 17 points.
Contact Us
Emily Ehrlich - MPH, PMP
Director, Behavioral Health
Areas of Expertise- Integration of Health Care Services
- Substance Use Disorder Prevention
- Quality Improvement & Clinical Decision Support
Emily has more than 25 years of experience in health care policy and research, including co-authoring 15 peer-reviewed publications and directing a CMS-funded program to train 4,000 primary care and behavioral health providers in depression screening and safe opioid prescribing. Emily leads Altarum’s behavioral health work, which includes implementing peer recovery programs, creating a patient outcomes registry to improve mood disorder treatment, and delivering training and technical assistance to help communities address the opioid crisis. Emily has a master’s degree in health behavior and health education and is a certified Project Management Professional.
Gregory Makris - MD
Medical Director, Appropriate Care
Areas of Expertise- Continuing Medical Education
- Electronic Health Record Integration
- Quality Improvement & Clinical Decision Support
Greg is Altarum’s medical director for the Great Lakes Practice Transformation Network—part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Transforming Clinical Practices Initiative. He develops evidence-based guidelines and best practices for practitioners in clinical accuracy and EHR integration. He also administers Altarum's continuing medical education program. Greg holds a medical doctorate from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and is a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine.