PROJECT SUMMARY 90% of Americans with SUD are not in treatment. When patients receive care, they do so inconsistently. The average length of time an American spends in treatment before seeing a full year of recovery is 9 years. Peer Support is proven to be effective at engaging patients who are unwilling to engage with traditional treatment. Outcomes from current face to face peer models have shown reductions in inpatient utilization and positive clinical outcomes such as improved recovery capital. While there is some evidence that group models such as AA and NA are effective for some patients, their support is siloed away from other clinical care and community support. Our solution, Marigold Recovery Service (MRS) is a novel, machine learning enabled, digital peer support program that is built on top of an anonymous text-based social network. It fulfills the need for a robust, 24/7, secure platform to support patients at all stages of their recovery. This phase I proposal will demonstrate the ability of our service to engage and retain patients with Opioid Use Disorders and will also develop novel techniques to automatically analyze patient messages for clinical and social determinants of health-related needs.

PROJECT NARRATIVE The widespread and chronic nature of opioid use disorder (OUD) necessitates investment in highly scalable technology solutions. Our work has the potential to engage the hardest to reach patients, particularly those in highly stigmatized and geographically isolated populations, giving them 24/7 access to supportive recovery communities. While there are other peer models that incorporate virtual support, Marigold's model is powered by novel and evolving technology, uniquely adept at integrating with and building upon existing care plans, and specifically designed for Medicaid members disproportionately impacted by the opioid and COVID 19 epidemics.