JAMA Network Open: Disparities in Substance Use Disorder Telehealth Services

JAMA Network Open: Disparities in Substance Use Disorder Telehealth Services

Telehealth has become a critical modality for substance use disorder treatment (SUDT) and focus of state and federal policy. This study examined telehealth’s association with changes in disparities in SUDT utilization across payers and rurality and found rural individuals experienced an 90 percent increase in overall substance use treatment per 100,000 adults between 2019 and 2023, while rising 49 percent among urban individuals. Despite accounting for the vast majority of substance use disorder services, people covered by Medicaid managed care are less likely to use telehealth compared with their counterparts who have Medicare Advantage or are commercially insured. Researchers recommend future research on how various populations use telehealth for their substance use disorder treatment can inform future effective policies to improve care for all populations. Read more in the press release.