Organizational Facilitators and Barriers to Medication for Opioid Use Disorder Capacity Expansion and Use

Medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) is a key strategy for addressing the opioid use disorder crisis, yet gaps in MOUD provision impede this strategy’s benefits. The research reported here sought to understand what distinguishes low- and high-performing organizations in building and using capacity to provide MOUD. As part of a mixed methods MOUD implementation trial, semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with personnel from low- and high-performing MOUD-providing organizations. Seventeen individuals from 17 organizations were interviewed. Findings demonstrate the importance of individual, organization, and community-level factors in supporting the building and use of MOUD capacity. Low- and high-performing organizations showed different patterns of facilitators and barriers during the implementation process. The key difference between low- and high-performing organizations was the level of organizational functioning. A better understanding of an organization’s assets and deficits at the individual, organizational, and community levels would allow decision-makers to tailor their approaches to MOUD implementation.