Center for Health Care Strategies: Telehealth and Medications for Opioid Use Disorder: Evidence Roundup In the face of an overwhelming overdose crisis, largely driven by the rise in the synthetic opioid fentanyl, telehealth for MOUD treatment promises to benefit many people. Currently, prescription volumes for MOUD are low and certain under-resourced communities experience significant [...]
Epic Research: ADHD Medications Prescribed at Similar Rates During Telehealth and In-Person Visits This study analyzed medication prescribing rates for telehealth and office visits, which found that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications were prescribed at similar rates during telehealth and in-person visits. Most initial ADHD prescriptions were for stimulant medications in both telehealth (84 [...]
JAMA Health Forum: Overall and Telehealth Addiction Treatment Utilization by Age, Race, Ethnicity, and Socioeconomic Status in California After COVID-19 Policy Changes This cohort study found that disparities in addiction treatment utilization were not exacerbated following expansion of telehealth during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers examined whether there were differences [...]
The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse: Telehealth for Opioid Use Disorder Retention as a Function of Demographics and Rurality A study published in The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse found that patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) are significantly more likely to stick with their treatment plan when offered buprenorphine via telemedicine. Patients [...]
Spine Journal: Utilization and Satisfaction Remain High Even After Easing of COVID-19 Lockdown Restrictions This study aimed to define telemedicine utilization rates during and after the initial height of the COVID-19 lockdown period and to determine patient satisfaction with telemedicine during and after the initial height of the COVID-19 lockdown period for spine patients [...]
Annuals of Medicine: Adaptation of the Tele-Harm Reduction Intervention to Promote Initiation and Retention in Buprenorphine Treatment Among People Who Inject Drugs The Tele-Harm Reduction (THR) intervention is a multicomponent, telehealth-based and peer-driven intervention to promote HIV viral suppression among people who inject drugs (PWID) accessing a syringe services program (SSP). This study examined buprenorphine initiation [...]
Kaiser Family Foundation: Telehealth Delivery of Behavioral Health Care in Medicaid: Findings from a Survey of State Medicaid Programs Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) surveyed state Medicaid officials about policies and trends related to telehealth delivery of behavioral health services. The survey found that states most commonly reported adding audio-only telehealth coverage of behavioral [...]
NEJM Catalyst: CareConnect: Adapting a Virtual Urgent Care Model to Provide Buprenorphine Transitional Care Medications for opioid use disorder (OUD) such as buprenorphine are the gold standard for treatment of OUD, but patients face many barriers accessing these medications. To address this gap, a team at Penn Medicine created CareConnect, which leveraged new [...]
Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment: Acceptability, Feasibility, and Outcomes of a Clinical Pilot Program for Video Observation of Methadone Take-Home Dosing During the COVID-19 Pandemic This study published in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment found that telehealth video observation was an effective method in increasing rates of observed methadone dosing while limiting exposure [...]