Cash for clinic visits: new study tests financial incentives to keep opioid patients in treatment
NCT ID NCT07129902
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This pilot study tests whether offering financial incentives (contingency management) can help people who started medication for opioid use disorder in the emergency department keep attending outpatient treatment. Thirty adults will be randomly assigned to receive either standard care or standard care plus payments for showing up to clinic appointments. The goal is to see if the incentives improve treatment attendance and reduce opioid use.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- monetary incentive (contingency management)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this approach could improve treatment attendance and reduce relapse for people starting medication for opioid use disorder in the emergency department.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small pilot study (30 people) testing a behavioral intervention, not a new drug. Results may not apply to other settings or larger populations.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 30 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Sep 2025
- Expected to finish
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May 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Major inclusion criteria include * STAR referral to outpatient clinic (Addiction Treatment Center and Chittenden Clinic) with prescription for buprenorphine or methadone. * Age ≥18 years. * Provide informed consent. Exclusion Criteria * Pending incarceration in the next 30 days. * Plan to leave the area (Burlington/Chittenden County) in the next 30 days. * Physical, health, or structural challenge that prevents attendance at outpatient clinic.
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Get notified about this study
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of Vermont Medical Center
RECRUITINGBurlington, Vermont, 05405, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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