Using telehealth to improve buprenorphine access during and after COVID-19: A rapid response initiative in Rhode Island

The COVID-19 pandemic and the health of people who use illicit opioids in New York City, the first 12 months

“…Given its clear suitability for substance use disorder treatment, telehealth models ( Clark et al, 2021 ) tailored to persons with co-occurring substance use disorder and mental health concerns should be expanded to non-disaster contexts. Problematic substance use has been associated with a range of mental health disorders, and our findings indicate that over half of participants struggled with depression, anxiety, and loneliness that they attributed to the pandemic, especially in its first three months.…”

A comparison of office-based buprenorphine treatment outcomes in Bronx community clinics before versus during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Although published narratives describe changes in OUD treatment delivery during the pandemic ( Buchheit, Wheelock, Lee, Brandt, & Gregg, 2021 ; Clark et al, 2021 ; Samuels et al, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2021 ), to our knowledge, only two manuscripts have reported patient outcomes ( Nordeck et al, 2020 ; Tofighi et al, 2021 ), and none have compared the full cascade of OUD treatment outcomes before versus during the pandemic. Of the two studies that examined patient outcomes, neither included patients who were referred to buprenorphine treatment but did not initiate care.…”

Trends in Engagement With Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Among Medicaid Beneficiaries During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…In light of these regulatory changes, maintained rates of buprenorphine possession may represent rapid expansion of telehealth services to enhance access for patients seeking care in officebased settings. 23,24 Relative to OTPs, office-based settings may have been particularly wellpositioned to expand telehealth services. Office-based opioid treatment often takes place in physician practices that care for a wider spectrum of disease entities than OTPs, which are focused exclusively on OUD.…”