Sean Murphy

In the last eight years, emergency departments (EDs) have seen an influx of visits related to opioid use disorder (OUD). For the same reason, researchers have been citing EDs to be a critical setting and reachable moment for initiating OUD medications, the gold standard of care. Buprenorphine is advantageous as a low-barrier OUD treatment compared […]

Substance use disorders (SUD), and especially opioid use disorder (OUD), are prevalent within the criminal-legal system.  Recently, there has been increased alignment of OUD care across the criminal-legal system with the patient-centered American Society of Addiction Medicine guidelines. Whether by choice or through legislation, carceral facilities are increasingly offering FDA-approved medications for OUD (MOUD), which […]

In this systematic literature review published in Value in Health, CHERISH Research Affiliates Czarina Behrends and Ahmed Bayoumi, CHERISH staff members Jared Leff, Jazmine Li, and Erminia Fardone, CHERISH investigators Kathryn McCollister, Sean M. Murphy, and Bruce Schackman, and former NIDA summer intern, Weston Lowry, analyzed 16 studies that summarized and identified gaps of economic […]

The 4th Annual NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-Term (HEAL) Initiative Investigator Meeting took place on February 22, 2023. HEAL-funded investigators and key stakeholders gathered in Bethesda, MD, to share research findings and identify new opportunities for pain and opioid use disorder research. HEAL Director Dr. Rebecca Baker also presented the inaugural NIH HEAL Initiative Director’s Awards for […]

Despite evidence that medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), namely methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone, provided at the point of incarceration improve the well-being of the individual and the public, financial and administrative limitations in jail/prison healthcare often serve as barriers to this recommended first-line treatment for OUD. In fact, evidence indicates that more than 80% […]

Conducting an economic evaluation alongside a randomized clinical trial provides valuable information for clinicians, insurers, and policy stakeholders. Integrating an economic evaluation within a trial provides researchers the opportunity to collect patient-level data at multiple time points on both cost and effectiveness outcomes, and to measure the comparative impact of treatments on these outcomes while […]

Naltrexone and buprenorphine are two effective medications for opioid use disorder (OUD). Naltrexone, which is typically given as a monthly extended-release injection (XR-NTX), and daily oral buprenorphine, which is typically combined with naloxone (BUP-NX), are prescribed in outpatient or office-based medical settings. XR-NTX patients, however, need to complete detoxification before starting treatment. Results from a […]

In this systematic review, researchers affiliated with the Center for Health Economics of Treatment Interventions for Substance Use Disorder, HCV, and HIV (CHERISH) including CHERISH staff Erica Onuoha and Jared Leff; CHERISH investigators Bruce R. Schackman, Kathryn E. McCollister, and Sean M. Murphy; and CHERISH Advisory Board member Daniel Polsky, identified new studies supporting buprenorphine and methadone as economically advantageous medications for […]

Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) are evidence-based treatments that help people reduce or stop using opioids. However, high discontinuation rates of MOUD pose a barrier to reducing opioid-related overdoses. Extended-release buprenorphine (XR-BUP) is a relatively new MOUD, approved in late 2017, that has the potential to increase retention because of its monthly dosing schedule. Currently, there is […]

The National Institute on Drug Abuse, or NIDA, considers data harmonization in substance use disorder, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV) research a high-priority. Data harmonization allows investigators to synthesize data across independent studies and promote more rigorous and comparable analyses of an intervention, program, or policy. Harmonizing data also ensures that […]

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way individuals access the healthcare system. For example, recent studies suggest high-risk populations may be foregoing necessary care out of fear of entering healthcare facilities and contracting the virus. A new study by Sean Murphy, PhD, associate professor of population health sciences at Weill Cornell Medicine and director of the methodology core […]

According to a new study, the total annual cost of opioid use disorder (OUD) to U.S. society in 2018 was $786.8 billion. This figure includes costs associated with excess healthcare expenditures, criminal justice resources, lost workplace and home productivity, and premature mortality. Of the $786.8 billion, $89.1 billion was attributed to additional healthcare expenditures. The study […]