RECADEMY Webinar Explores How Spero Health & St. Matthews Pharmacy Are Addressing Barriers To OUD Care In Rural Communities 

GETTYSBURG, PA. (September 19, 2026) – For individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) living in rural communities, accessing and remaining engaged in treatment can require overcoming challenges that extend well beyond the clinical intervention. Transportation, limited local treatment options, medication access, pharmacy coordination, and the ability to return for ongoing care can all influence whether treatment works in practice.

RECADEMY, an OPEN MINDS online learning collaborative, has announced the tenth webinar in its 2026 educational series focused on advancing evidence-based substance use disorder treatment. The session will examine how Spero Health and St. Matthews Specialty Pharmacy have worked together to address these barriers and create a more flexible approach to OUD treatment in rural communities.

The webinar, “What Works In Rural OUD Care: A Best​ Practice Case Study With St. Matthews Pharmacy & Spero Health,” will be held on October 6, 2026, from 1-2 p.m. ET, and will feature Kim Caudill, Pharm.D., Senior Clinical Pharmacist/Director of Quality and Accreditations at St. Matthews Specialty Pharmacy, and David Hayden, Senior Vice President of Clinical Services at Spero Health. The session will be moderated by Stuart Buttlaire, Ph.D., Vice President of Clinical Excellence & Leadership at OPEN MINDS.

Using the treatment journey of one individual in rural Kentucky as a case study, the speakers will examine how transportation challenges, inconsistent access to in-person services, medication access, and other barriers can affect treatment engagement. They will share how Spero Health and St. Matthews Specialty Pharmacy coordinated clinical services, pharmacy support, medication delivery, and telehealth to build care around the realities of the individual’s life.

“In a rural community, the isolation that exists makes getting all those things so much more challenging than it does in an urban area,” said Mr. Hayden.

The case study will also examine the operational infrastructure supporting the partnership, including prior authorization support, medication ordering and delivery, communication between the pharmacy and provider organization, and coordination to help ensure medication is available when the patient arrives for treatment.

“Communication has to happen,” said Ms. Caudill. “Our Stream portal is built to make communication really easy and really simple for the majority of people.”

The experience reflects a broader lesson for provider organizations serving rural communities: expanding access requires identifying where individuals are most likely to encounter barriers and building clinical and operational workflows capable of responding to them.

“It’s recognizing that [addiction] is a community condition,” said Mr. Hayden. “It affects the community, and you change that by one person at a time.”

St. Matthews Specialty Pharmacy has also seen growing use of long-acting injectable medications within its work. Over the past two years, its long-acting injectable volume has increased 60%, significantly outpacing the growth of the medications themselves, according to St. Matthews Specialty Pharmacy.

Key Learning Objectives Include:

• Understand the access and engagement challenges that can affect OUD treatment in rural communities
• Examine one rural Kentucky patient’s treatment journey and how Spero Health and St. Matthews Specialty Pharmacy adapted care around his needs
• Explore how provider-pharmacy coordination can support medication access, prior authorization, delivery, and continuity of care
• Identify practical strategies provider organizations can use to strengthen access to evidence-based OUD treatment in rural communities

Registration is now open.

About RECADEMY

RECADEMY is a research-based, online learning collaborative focused on improving substance use disorder treatment across clinical settings and payer environments. Through webinars, on-demand education, and curated resources, RECADEMY supports healthcare leaders in implementing evidence-based models of care and strengthening systems that improve treatment access, continuity, and outcomes.

About OPEN MINDS

OPEN MINDS is a national market intelligence, management consulting, and marketing services firm specializing exclusively in the high-needs consumer market – mental health, addiction treatment, cognitive disabilities, chronic health conditions, elder services, health-related social needs, and adjacent markets within the health and human service field. The OPEN MINDS mission is to provide payers, service provider organizations, pharmaceutical, technology, and scientific firms that serve these consumers with the market and management knowledge needed to improve their organizational efficiency and effectiveness. Learn more at openminds.com.