Patients who initiated treatment for opioid use disorder through a telehealth mobile app stayed with treatment at a greater rate over six months than those who started treatment in a physical clinic, a new study led by Oregon Health & Science University found. The study, published in the Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment , is among the first to compare patient retention between telehealth and traditional office-based treatment. The comparison was possible only because a federal exemption during the COVID-19 pandemic enabled clinicians to initiate treatment with buprenorphine through a phone or tablet rather than an in-person visit.
The exemption is due to expire at the end of this year, raising the significance of this new finding amid an illicit drug use crisis that continues to kill more than 100,000 Americans annually. This finding reinforces the idea that telehealth is effective in starting and continuing treatment for people with opioid use disorders." Brian Chan, M.
D., M.P.
H., lead author, associate professor of medicine (general internal medicine and geriatrics), OHSU School of Medicine The study was conducted from September 2021 through March of 2023. Buprenorphine is a partial opioid receptor agonist that inhibits opioid withdrawal symptoms.
It is one of three Food and Drug Administration-approved medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder. Researchers studied a group of 159 patients from two groups: one that initiated treatment through a tel.