Project ECHO
Let’s improve population health, and let’s do it fast. Moving knowledge, not people.
Program details
Program duration: The program runs from January to December 2025, with bi-weekly sessions available. Participants have the flexibility to attend any number of sessions they choose throughout the year.
When: Biweekly (Wednesdays) from 12pm – 1pm (AZ-time)
Where: All sessions are held live, virtually over zoom
Background
Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes), is a revolution in continuing medical education and care delivery, specifically designed to increase the capacity of providers working in rural and underserved areas. By leveraging technology, teams of specialists are connected through virtual teleECHO clinics on a weekly or biweekly basis with primary care teams, creating a platform for lifelong learning and guided practice. The aim is to provide local care teams with the knowledge, resources, and technical assistance to treat complex patients at the local primary care level. The driving force behind Project ECHO is the movement to democratize medical knowledge and amplify local capacity to address the needs of the most vulnerable patients by equipping communities with the right knowledge, at the right place, at the right time. The result? Patient’s get the high-quality care they need, when they need it, close to home.
The ECHO Model
Using proven adult learning techniques and interactive video technology, the ECHO Model™ connects groups of community providers with specialists at centers of excellence in real-time collaborative sessions. The sessions, designed around case-based learning and mentorship, help local clinicians gain the expertise required to provide needed services to their own patients. Providers gain skills and confidence; specialists learn new approaches for applying their knowledge across diverse cultural and geographical contexts. As the capacity of the local workforce increases, lives improve.
All ECHO programs are offered at no cost, and whenever possible, free CME/CEU credits are provided to participants, removing cost as a barrier to accessing necessary medical training.
Outcomes
Study of the ECHO model has proven its effectiveness in facilitating interdisciplinary primary care teams to safely and effectively treat complex conditions within local clinics. These teams represent numerous professional backgrounds including physicians, nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, social workers, behavioral health specialists, community health workers, and more. Evidence also supports the model to be scalable, replicable, and responsive. To date, there have been 6,357 programs developed globally from across 1,212 organizations and 5.3 million session attendances from participants residing in all 199 countries.
Programs
Substance Use Disorder Training ECHO
Project aim
Integrate both students enrolled in physician assistant, nursing, medical, and other allied health programs, along with interdisciplinary medical providers across the state of Arizona into a single, comprehensive education and training program. The aim of this combined CME/GME program is to simultaneously increase the capacity and confidence our current and future healthcare workforce to deliver evidence-based care for people with substance use disorders, with a particular focus on rural and underserved communities.
Project goals
1. Improve the capacity of the current and future interdisciplinary healthcare workforce in the screening, assessment, and management of people with SUD through Project ECHO, by delivering a chronic illness and recovery management-focused curriculum.
2. Increase the number of PA students trained in the screening, assessment, and management of people with SUD through direct clinical training experiences in mental health and SUD, in predominantly rural and underserved communities.
3. Improve dissemination of evidence-based practices in the screening, assessment, and management of people with SUD by providing other health professions training programs with a guide to recreate this program at their own institution.
Subject matter experts
· Matt Evans, MD
· Lauren Nivison, PMHNP-BC, FNP
· Taylor Riedley, PharmD, BCPP
· Alison Reuter, PhD, PsyD
· Katherine (Katie) Mommaerts, PhD, MSW
2026 SUD Training ECHO Curriculum
| Date | Topic |
|---|---|
| March 18 | Person- and family-centered communication |
| Oct 28 | Correctional Recovery Pathways |
| April 1 | Approaches to treatment: abstinence vs. risk reduction |
| Aug 5 | Polysubstance Use Disorder or Sedatives/Benzo Misuse |
| April 15 | SUD Stigma in Healthcare Professionals: Consequences and Moving Forward |
| April 29 | Opioid Use Disorder: Presentations, Screening, Treatment |
| Aug 19 | Cannabis Use Disorder |
| Date | Topic |
| Dec 9 | Interprofessional Collaboration in SUD Care |
| Feb 4 | History of Criminalization of SUD in America |
| Feb 18 | Street-Level Substance ID: Types, Effects, Ways of Use + Street Medicine |
| Jan 7 | The Science of Addiction |
| Jan 21 | Background & History of SUD Treatment |
| July 8 | Benzodiazepine education & Assisted Taper |
| July 22 | Stimulant Use Disorder |
| June 10 | Opioid Use Disorder: macrodosing & microdosing as induction techniques |
| June 24 | Alcohol Use Disorder: Screening & Treatment (Dosing) |
| March 4 | Language of Substance Use (ex: in the life) |
| May 13 | Opioid Use Disorder: Medications (precipitated withdrawal) |
| May 27 | Opioid Use Disorder: Pain Management + Complex Persistent Opioid Dependence in Chronic Pain |
| Nov 18 | Building Your Network: Identifying Resources for You & Your Clients |
| Oct 14 | Hep-C |
| Sept 2 | Seeing Patients Where You’re At: Emergency Rooms & Urgent Care |
| Sept 16 | Seeing Patients Where You’re At: Primary Care (Buprenorphine) |
| Sept 30 | Seeing Patients Where You’re At: OBGYN & Labor and Delivery/Couplet Care |