Does an innovative model improve the monitoring of psychiatric disorders in patients treated for opioid use disorder?

People suffering from both opioid use disorder and a psychiatric disorder such as depression or bipolar disorder rarely receive appropriate treatment for their mental health. In the United States, more than half of individuals dependent on opioids also have a mental disorder, but many do not receive any treatment for it. A recent study examined the impact of a care model called “hub and spoke” on adherence to psychiatric medications among these patients.

This model organizes care by designating certain centers as “hubs” where opioid addiction treatment is initiated, while other facilities, the “spokes,” provide follow-up care. By integrating mental health programs into this network, researchers hypothesized that this approach could improve the management of psychiatric disorders.

The results show mixed effects. For bipolar patients, those treated within the “hub and spoke” model were less likely to be prescribed a mood stabilizer in the month following the start of their addiction treatment. However, over a year, their adherence to these medications was much better than that of other patients. On the other hand, for people suffering from depression, this model did not show significant improvement in the prescription or adherence to antidepressants.

These findings suggest that the focus on opioid addiction treatment did not automatically benefit the management of associated psychiatric disorders. Care programs should therefore better integrate both aspects to meet the overall needs of patients. The effectiveness of such a model would thus depend on its ability to balance priorities between addiction and mental health, rather than focusing solely on initiating opioid treatment.

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Reference Document

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-026-01606-9

Title: Treatment for Comorbid Mental Health Disorders Among Patients Treated for Opioid Disorder: The Role of a Hub and Spoke Intervention

Journal: Community Mental Health Journal

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Authors: Dominic Hodgkin; Shay M. Daily; Lee Panas; Grant Ritter; Maureen T. Stewart; Sharon Reif