Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes): A new model for educating primary care providers about treatment of substance use disorders

ABSTRACTBackground: Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) trains and mentors primary care providers (PCPs) in the care of patients with complex conditions. ECHO is a distance education model that connects specialists with numerous PCPs via simultaneous video link for the purpose of facilitating case-based learning. This article describes a teleECHO clinic based at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center that is focused on treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs) and behavioral health disorders. Methods: Since 2005, specialists in treatment of SUDs and behavioral health disorders at Project ECHO have offered a weekly 2-hour Integrated Addictions and Psychiatry (IAP) TeleECHO Clinic focused on supporting PCP evaluation and treatment of SUDs and behavioral health disorders. We tabulate the number of teleECHO clinic sessions, participants, and CME/CEU (continuing medical education/continuing education unit) credits provided annually. This teleECHO clinic has also been used ...