Faculty Profile
Thuy Dieu Nguyen, PhD, MPA
- Searle Assistant Professor, Health Management and Policy
Dr. Nguyen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy
at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. She is the founder and Director
of the Michigan-Substance Use Policy and Economic Research Network.
Dr. Nguyen received her PhD in Economics from Maastricht University in 2016 and subsequently
served as a Post-doctoral Fellow at Indiana University’s O’Neill School of Public
and Environmental Affairs. In her research, Dr. Nguyen utilizes novel secondary data
and rigorous econometric methods to study the opioid epidemic. Specific areas of interest
include the effect of cost-sharing and policies removing prior authorization requirements,
the effects of surgery on treatment with medications for opioid use disorder, the
effects of supply-side policies to restrict opioid prescriptions, the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic on patients with opioid use disorder, and physician prescribing
behavior.
Dr. Nguyen’s work has been published in high-impact journals such as New England Journal
of Medicine, JAMA, Health Affairs, and Journal of Health Economics. She is a member
of the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation at the University of Michigan,
the American Economic Association, the American Society of Health Economists, and
Academy Health.
- PhD, Economics, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands, 2016
- MPA, Policy Analysis, Indiana University, Bloomington, 2012
- BA, Finance and Banking, National Economics University, Hanoi, Vietnam, 2008
Research Projects:
NIDA R01 Project: Insurance-Related Barriers to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in Private and Medicaid Plans (Principal Investigator)
In 2023, over 80,000 opioid overdose deaths occurred in the U.S, highlighting the importance of mitigating insurance-related barriers to accessing medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). In this proposal, we will provide actionable, policy-relevant information on the effect of cost-sharing for MOUD in privately insured patients and on the effect of removing prior authorization requirements for MOUD in Medicaid patients. Results will inform efforts to optimize insurance benefit design for MOUD in private and Medicaid plans, potentially leading to the removal of insurance-related barriers that may be contributing to opioid-related morbidity and mortality.
NIDA R01 Project: The Impact of Surgery on Outcomes for Patients Taking Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (Principal Investigator)
Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD)–buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone–decrease illicit opioid use, increase retention in treatment, and save lives. However, for patients taking MOUD, and buprenorphine in particular, the treatment of acute pain after surgery is challenging. Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist that acts as a competitive antagonist for traditional opioids. Due to this fact, perioperative guidelines have historically advocated that patients temporarily discontinue buprenorphine before surgery. However, the national conversation has recently shifted with guidelines recommending that buprenorphine, and to a lesser extent methadone, be continued in the perioperative setting. The evidence supporting this change has relied on small samples, non-surgical cohorts, and studies failing to examine relevant outcomes for pain and opioid use disorder. In this proposal, we will use several state-of-the-art national databases to achieve a better understanding of perioperative management of MOUD and the consequences of therapy retention on opioid overdose risk.
Medications for Opioid Use Disorder: Clinician Behavior and Policy Evaluation
Physician prescribing behavior may be influenced by a number of factors including prescriber incentives and pharmaceutical policy. As we search for solutions to address the ongoing opioid epidemic, it is important that we understand both the intended and unintended consequences of opioid related policies. For example, previous studies by the team have demonstrated an association between less restrictive scope-of-practice regulations and greater buprenorphine prescribing by nurse practitioners. Future work related to this project will continue to explore the link between opioid related policy and clinician behavior.
Health Care Workforce Data and Policy
The COVID-19 pandemic caused a variety of disruptions to the health care workforce. Although publications on select workforce sectors chronicle patterns in employment through the early pandemic, there is a lack of national studies on the broad health care workforce using more recent data in this period of rapid change. This limits the ability of health care organizations and policy makers to ensure that patient needs are met. This project aims to address this knowledge gap, providing data driven insights into health care employment using large national databases.
Chua KP, Bicket MC, Bohnert ASB, Conti RM, Lagisetty P, Nguyen TD. Buprenorphine Dispensing after Elimination of the Waiver Requirement. New England Journal of Medicine. 2024 Apr 25;390(16):1530-1532. doi: 10.1056/NEJMc2312906. PMID: 38657250
Nguyen TD, Whaley C, Simon KI, Cantor J. Changes in Employment in the US Health Care Workforce, 2016-2022. JAMA. Published online November 02, 2023. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.18932; PMID: 37917055; PMCID: PMC10623300
Gupta, S., Nguyen TD, Freeman, P., Simon KI Competitive Effects of Federal and State Opioid Restrictions: Evidence from the Controlled Substance Laws. Journal of Health Economics. 2023 September. doi: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2023.102772.
Andraka-Christou B, Simon KI, Bradford WD, Nguyen TD. Buprenorphine Treatment For Opioid Use Disorder: Comparison Of Insurance Restrictions, 2017-21. Health Affairs (Millwood). 2023 May;42(5):658-664. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2022.01513. PMID: 37126752.
Nguyen, TD, Ziedan, E, Simon, K, Miles, J, Crystal, S, Samples, H, Gupta, S. Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Buprenorphine and Extended-Release Naltrexone Filled Prescriptions During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Jun 1;5(6):e2214765. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.14765. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35648400/
Nguyen TD, Gupta S, Ziedan E, Simon KI, Alexander GC, Saloner B, Stein BD. Assessment of Filled Buprenorphine Prescriptions for Opioid Use Disorder During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic. JAMA Intern Med. 2021 Apr 1;181(4):562-565. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.7497. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33346795/
Nguyen TD, Muench U, Andraka-Christou B, Simon K, Bradford WD, Spetz J. The Association Between Scope of Practice Regulations and Nurse Practitioner Prescribing of Buprenorphine After the 2016 Opioid Bill. Med Care Res Rev. 2022 Apr;79(2):290-298. doi: 10.1177/10775587211004311. Epub 2021 Apr 1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33792414/
Nguyen, TD, Andraka-Christou B, Bradford WD, Simon K. Opting into the Public List of DATA-Waivered Practitioners: Variations by Specialty, Treatment Capacity, and Practitioner Characteristics. J Addict Med. 2021 Oct 18. doi: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000000911. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34669615/
Nguyen TD, Bradford WD, Simon KI. Pharmaceutical payments to physicians may increase prescribing for opioids. Addiction. 2019 Jun;114(6):1051-1059. doi: 10.1111/add.14509. Epub 2019 Jan 22. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30667135/
Email: thuydn@umich.edu
Office: 734-936-1303
Address:
M3234 SPH II
1415 Washington Heights
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
For media inquiries: sph.media@umich.edu
Areas of Expertise: COVID-19, Health Equity, Health Policy, Opioids, Substance Use
Thuy Nguyen in the News
Nursing homes hardest hit by health care employment declines
New research from Thuy Nguyen
