UPMC Physicians Participating in National Institutes of Health Study about Alternatives to Opioid Use in Dialysis Patients
February 15, 2021
Co-director of clinical research at the Renal-Electrolyte Division at UPMC, Manisha Jhamb, MD, MPH, and chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine Jane Liebschutz, MD, MPH, FACP, are participating in the Hemodialysis Opioid Prescription Effort (HOPE) research study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The randomized controlled trials consider the effectiveness of non-medication and medication-based alternatives to traditional opioid use in dialysis patients. Researchers will work with dialysis patients to develop personalized treatments by offering pain coping skills training, in addition to offering buprenorphine to patients who already take significant doses of opioids.
The HOPE consortium, which is expected to have about 640 participants, is one of hundreds of projects funded by The Helping to End Addiction Long-Term Initiative (NIH HEAL Initiative), which aims to tackle the opioid public health crisis. In addition to the HOPE consortium, Dr. Jhamb and Dr. Liebschutz are researching stigmas associated with buprenorphine as an extension to the study.
Learn more about the goals of the HOPE research study by visiting the NIH website.
