Houston program aims to keep opioid patients in care with medication and support
NCT ID NCT03396276
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests a program called HEROES that combines medication (Suboxone), counseling, and community outreach to help people with opioid use disorder engage and stay in treatment. Researchers will enroll 3,000 participants in Houston to see if this approach improves treatment retention compared to standard care. The goal is to reduce opioid dependence through a supportive, multi-step system.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Suboxone (buprenorphine/naloxone)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could show that combining medication, counseling, and community outreach helps more people with opioid use disorder stay in treatment.
- What could go wrong
- This is a large Phase 4 trial, but results depend on real-world factors like patient motivation and follow-up. It may not work for everyone, and Suboxone can cause side effects like nausea or withdrawal symptoms.
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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Phase 4
Runs after approval, following long-term safety and how well the treatment works in everyday use.
- Participants
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About 3,000 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Apr 2018
- Expected to finish
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Aug 2030
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.
Inclusion Criteria: * In otherwise good health based on physician assessment and medical history * Tests positive in urine sample for opioids * Patients express a willingness to stop opioid use * Meet Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) criteria for opioid dependence * Patients must be able to speak English * Be agreeable to and capable of signing informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * Non-English-speaking patients * Have a known sensitivity to buprenorphine or naloxone * Be physiologically dependent on alcohol, benzodiazepines or other drugs of abuse that require immediate medical attention. Other substance use diagnoses are not exclusionary. * Have a medical condition that would, in the opinion of the study physician, make participation medically hazardous, including unstable cardiovascular disease, neurological deficits, trauma, acute hepatitis, stroke, and liver or renal disease) * Be acutely psychotic, severely depressed, and in need of inpatient treatment, or is an immediate suicide risk * Be a nursing or pregnant female
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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
The full official record for this study. This one lists no contact details, but it is the first place any would appear.
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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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The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Houston, Texas, 77030, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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