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October 2026
JCTS
A study titled “Research Implementation Practice and Patient Liaison (RIPPL) Roles in a Pragmatic Trial of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in Practice-Based Research: The RIPPL Effect” published in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Science (JCTS) features several contributors from the Department of Family Medicine (DFM).
From the article:
“Pragmatic trials involve patient recruitment, intervention delivery, and data collection leveraging usual systems and processes of care. Yet pragmatic does not mean easy, such that enacting pragmatic trial protocols requires considerable effort to engage patients and practice members. Home versus Office versus Telehealth for Medication Enhanced Recovery (HOMER) was a national pragmatic trial testing comparative effectiveness of office, home-based, and telehealth induction of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). Research implementation practice and patient liaisons (RIPPLs) were employed to support pragmatic trial conduct across 100 participating practices nationwide. The objective of this paper is to report on RIPPL roles and impact.
RIPPLs provided real-time feedback to the research team on opportunities for research protocol adaptations. Impact of the RIPPLs included protocol adaptations to decrease practice burden and improve ease of patient participation, regular eligible criteria fidelity monitoring, data completeness, and quality, and educating clinicians and staff on MOUD delivery”
DFM contributors include (individuals listed alphabetically): Douglas Fernald, MA; Tristen Hall, PhD, MPH; Donald Nease, MD; Benjamin Sofie and Linda Zittleman, MPH/MSPH.
Read more of this article.
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