EHR Medication Tracking at Methadone Treatment Sites
See how often methadone treatment sites reported tracking dispensed medications and sending prescriptions electronically, with SAMHSA state counts.
In the 2024 SAMHSA survey, 1,662 of 1,748 U.S. methadone treatment facility records in this analysis with valid answers (95.1%) reported tracking dispensed medications in their EHR.
Ease Health analyzed the 2024 National Substance Use and Mental Health Services Survey public-use file for the 50 states and DC. Among 1,448 records in the same group with a valid answer to a separate question, 957 (66.1%) reported electronically sending prescriptions to a pharmacy from the EHR. Download the national and state counts (CSV).
How often did methadone treatment facilities report EHR medication tracking?
The analysis starts with facilities reporting federally certified opioid treatment program status and outpatient methadone maintenance. It then includes records that report using an electronic health record, or EHR, and having an opioid treatment program, or OTP, in the EHR section. This yields 1,770 records. The 2024 questionnaire, page 39, asks about tracking and sending separately.
| EHR use reported | Yes | No | Missing | Not applicable | Yes among valid answers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tracks dispensed medications | 1,662 | 86 | 22 | Not a response option | 1,662 of 1,748 (95.1%) |
| Electronically sends prescriptions to a pharmacy | 957 | 491 | 74 | 248 | 957 of 1,448 (66.1%) |
Valid answers are yes and no. Missing and not applicable answers are excluded from that question's denominator. The two percentages describe the same starting group of facilities, with different sets of respondents contributing to each result.
How the two EHR questions overlap
Use the 1,429 records with yes or no answers to both questions for a direct comparison. In this group, 473 records (33.1%) said they track dispensed medications in the EHR and answered no to sending prescriptions to a pharmacy electronically from the EHR.
| Tracks dispensed medications | Sends prescriptions electronically | Records | Share of paired answers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | Yes | 882 | 61.7% |
| Yes | No | 473 | 33.1% |
| No | Yes | 58 | 4.1% |
| No | No | 16 | 1.1% |
The first row captures sites reporting both EHR uses. It cannot tell whether they recorded the same medication in both places. A no answer about sending from the EHR leaves open whether the facility uses a separate system or workflow.
National and state counts
California and New York had similar tracking shares among valid answers (147 of 149 and 106 of 109). They differed on the separate question about sending prescriptions electronically (36 of 113 in California and 83 of 101 in New York). These are counts of responses under the same filters. The data cannot explain why those answers differ.
Each state row shows the eligible cohort after the EHR questions and the denominator for each measure. Use the counts alongside any percentage, especially where a single response would change the result considerably. The CSV includes all four combinations of paired answers. A zero denominator appears as “No valid responses” in the table and has a blank percentage in the CSV.
| Geography | Eligible records | Tracks dispensed medications | Sends prescriptions electronically | Reports both uses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US (50 states and DC) | 1,770 | 1,662 of 1,748 (95.1%) | 957 of 1,448 (66.1%) | 882 of 1,429 (61.7%) |
| AK | 10 | 10 of 10 (100.0%) | 5 of 9 (55.6%) | 5 of 9 (55.6%) |
| AL | 17 | 15 of 17 (88.2%) | 7 of 11 (63.6%) | 7 of 11 (63.6%) |
| AR | 18 | 14 of 18 (77.8%) | 15 of 17 (88.2%) | 11 of 17 (64.7%) |
| AZ | 52 | 50 of 52 (96.2%) | 36 of 39 (92.3%) | 34 of 39 (87.2%) |
| CA | 153 | 147 of 149 (98.7%) | 36 of 113 (31.9%) | 33 of 110 (30.0%) |
| CO | 33 | 32 of 32 (100.0%) | 14 of 32 (43.8%) | 13 of 31 (41.9%) |
| CT | 28 | 24 of 28 (85.7%) | 26 of 28 (92.9%) | 22 of 28 (78.6%) |
| DC | 5 | 5 of 5 (100.0%) | 3 of 5 (60.0%) | 3 of 5 (60.0%) |
| DE | 17 | 17 of 17 (100.0%) | 13 of 17 (76.5%) | 13 of 17 (76.5%) |
| FL | 90 | 84 of 89 (94.4%) | 45 of 66 (68.2%) | 43 of 65 (66.2%) |
| GA | 68 | 65 of 68 (95.6%) | 20 of 52 (38.5%) | 18 of 52 (34.6%) |
| HI | 4 | 4 of 4 (100.0%) | 2 of 4 (50.0%) | 2 of 4 (50.0%) |
| IA | 8 | 8 of 8 (100.0%) | 8 of 8 (100.0%) | 8 of 8 (100.0%) |
| ID | 7 | 7 of 7 (100.0%) | 5 of 6 (83.3%) | 5 of 6 (83.3%) |
| IL | 74 | 70 of 74 (94.6%) | 21 of 59 (35.6%) | 18 of 59 (30.5%) |
| IN | 24 | 23 of 24 (95.8%) | 20 of 23 (87.0%) | 19 of 23 (82.6%) |
| KS | 10 | 10 of 10 (100.0%) | 7 of 10 (70.0%) | 7 of 10 (70.0%) |
| KY | 35 | 30 of 34 (88.2%) | 19 of 26 (73.1%) | 14 of 25 (56.0%) |
| LA | 9 | 8 of 9 (88.9%) | 6 of 8 (75.0%) | 6 of 8 (75.0%) |
| MA | 59 | 58 of 59 (98.3%) | 32 of 46 (69.6%) | 31 of 46 (67.4%) |
| MD | 101 | 99 of 101 (98.0%) | 41 of 84 (48.8%) | 40 of 84 (47.6%) |
| ME | 18 | 17 of 17 (100.0%) | 11 of 17 (64.7%) | 10 of 16 (62.5%) |
| MI | 43 | 40 of 43 (93.0%) | 28 of 41 (68.3%) | 26 of 41 (63.4%) |
| MN | 18 | 17 of 17 (100.0%) | 8 of 14 (57.1%) | 7 of 13 (53.8%) |
| MO | 26 | 25 of 26 (96.2%) | 21 of 23 (91.3%) | 21 of 23 (91.3%) |
| MS | 5 | 5 of 5 (100.0%) | 1 of 4 (25.0%) | 1 of 4 (25.0%) |
| MT | 2 | 2 of 2 (100.0%) | 2 of 2 (100.0%) | 2 of 2 (100.0%) |
| NC | 81 | 79 of 81 (97.5%) | 43 of 59 (72.9%) | 41 of 59 (69.5%) |
| ND | 2 | 2 of 2 (100.0%) | 2 of 2 (100.0%) | 2 of 2 (100.0%) |
| NE | 6 | 5 of 6 (83.3%) | 4 of 5 (80.0%) | 4 of 5 (80.0%) |
| NH | 12 | 12 of 12 (100.0%) | 6 of 9 (66.7%) | 6 of 9 (66.7%) |
| NJ | 42 | 39 of 40 (97.5%) | 13 of 33 (39.4%) | 10 of 31 (32.3%) |
| NM | 20 | 19 of 20 (95.0%) | 14 of 18 (77.8%) | 13 of 18 (72.2%) |
| NV | 13 | 13 of 13 (100.0%) | 6 of 10 (60.0%) | 6 of 10 (60.0%) |
| NY | 116 | 106 of 109 (97.2%) | 83 of 101 (82.2%) | 75 of 95 (78.9%) |
| OH | 114 | 100 of 113 (88.5%) | 87 of 104 (83.7%) | 73 of 103 (70.9%) |
| OK | 15 | 14 of 14 (100.0%) | 7 of 12 (58.3%) | 6 of 11 (54.5%) |
| OR | 29 | 28 of 29 (96.6%) | 10 of 24 (41.7%) | 10 of 24 (41.7%) |
| PA | 84 | 77 of 84 (91.7%) | 50 of 69 (72.5%) | 48 of 69 (69.6%) |
| RI | 16 | 16 of 16 (100.0%) | 16 of 16 (100.0%) | 16 of 16 (100.0%) |
| SC | 27 | 27 of 27 (100.0%) | 19 of 23 (82.6%) | 19 of 23 (82.6%) |
| SD | 2 | 2 of 2 (100.0%) | 1 of 2 (50.0%) | 1 of 2 (50.0%) |
| TN | 24 | 17 of 24 (70.8%) | 14 of 21 (66.7%) | 9 of 21 (42.9%) |
| TX | 80 | 75 of 80 (93.8%) | 27 of 46 (58.7%) | 27 of 46 (58.7%) |
| UT | 20 | 19 of 20 (95.0%) | 15 of 19 (78.9%) | 15 of 19 (78.9%) |
| VA | 54 | 48 of 53 (90.6%) | 40 of 46 (87.0%) | 34 of 45 (75.6%) |
| VT | 10 | 10 of 10 (100.0%) | 4 of 7 (57.1%) | 4 of 7 (57.1%) |
| WA | 37 | 37 of 37 (100.0%) | 21 of 31 (67.7%) | 21 of 31 (67.7%) |
| WI | 21 | 20 of 20 (100.0%) | 13 of 16 (81.3%) | 13 of 16 (81.3%) |
| WV | 11 | 11 of 11 (100.0%) | 10 of 11 (90.9%) | 10 of 11 (90.9%) |
| WY | 0 | No valid responses | No valid responses | No valid responses |
How the facilities were selected
The first two questions match the cohort in the counseling and IOP analysis. In the 50 states and DC, 1,988 records report both federally certified OTP status and outpatient methadone maintenance. Of those, 1,899 report using an EHR either exclusively or alongside paper. Requiring a yes to the separate OTP question in the EHR section brings the total to 1,770. All 1,770 also report EHR use.
The other 218 records in the starting cohort include 101 no answers to that separate OTP question, 23 not applicable answers, 46 logical skips, and 48 missing answers. Those responses are outside the EHR question cohort. The two OTP questions appear in different parts of the survey. The filter does not reconcile their answers or determine a facility's certification status.
Reproduce the calculation
Download the Delimited archive from SAMHSA and open NSUMHSS_2024_PUF_CSV.csv. The 2024 codebook provides field labels and response codes.
- Keep the 50 states and DC in
LOCATIONSTATE. SelectOTXFEDOTP=1(question A8) andCTYPEML=1(outpatient methadone maintenance, question A6a). - Keep
EHR1values 1 and 2 (EHR only or EHR plus paper) andEHR9=1(the EHR section's OTP question). - Use
EHR9Ato count tracking andEHR8_12to count electronic sending. For each field, divide the count of 1 by the count of 0 and 1 combined. - For the paired table, keep rows with 0 or 1 in both fields. Count the four answer combinations and divide each by the paired denominator. For national rates, use the summed counts across the 50 states and DC. Round to one decimal place.
These are unweighted counts of 2024 facility records, one count per included location. They measure how a facility answered the survey, with no information about the volume of prescriptions, dispensing events, or patients served. The fields do not specify a drug, a controlled-substance prescription, or who supplied the EHR.
What to compare in a medication workflow
Bring a fictional patient record with two separate events to a vendor demo, one medication dispensed at the treatment site and one prescription sent to a pharmacy. Ask the team to show which record proves each event happened, where staff find it, and whether another system supplies part of the evidence. Use the same sample with each vendor.
| Evidence to ask for | What to compare |
|---|---|
| Record of a dispensed medication | Where the event is recorded, how staff identify its date and location, and who can review a correction |
| Record of a prescription sent | Where sending happens and what evidence distinguishes a draft from a prescription sent to a pharmacy |
| Record when systems disagree | How a reviewer finds a pending or conflicting entry and which system the team uses to resolve it |
Some facilities may only need one of those workflows. The MAT clinic EHR buyer guide covers the separate question of how the care team documents a medication follow-up and a counseling visit. The behavioral health EHR buyer guide covers evaluating outside records across systems.
Cite this analysis
Cite Ease Health analysis of the 2024 SAMHSA N-SUMHSS public-use file with the facility group, geography, and denominator. For tracking, use 1,662 of 1,748 valid responses. For overlap, use 882 of 1,429 paired responses. The behavioral health research catalog lists related facility analyses and their underlying tables.
Frequently Asked Questions
How common was tracking dispensed medications in the EHR?
In the 2024 SAMHSA survey, 1,662 of 1,748 U.S. methadone treatment facility records in this analysis with valid answers (95.1%) reported tracking dispensed medications in their EHR.
How common was electronically sending prescriptions from the EHR?
Of 1,448 included records with a yes or no answer to the prescribing question, 957 (66.1%) reported using their EHR to send prescriptions electronically to a pharmacy.
How many records reported both EHR uses?
Of the 1,429 records that answered both questions yes or no, 882 (61.7%) reported both tracking dispensed medications and electronically sending prescriptions to a pharmacy from the EHR.
Does the survey identify which medications were tracked or prescribed?
The two EHR questions do not identify the medication. The cohort uses a separate question about outpatient methadone maintenance to select facility records.
