Access to medication for opioid use disorder supported by telemedicine and healthcare coverage: A web-based survey during the COVID-19 pandemic
Background and Aims: Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) are highly effective in improving treatment outcomes and reducing overdose. Concerns about interrupted access to critical MOUD services led to expansion of telemedicine services during the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. The current study...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Addictive Behaviors Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352853223000378 |
| _version_ | 1797390453142716416 |
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| author | Mollie A. Monnig Samantha E. Clark Hayley Treloar Padovano Alexander W. Sokolovsky Kimberly Goodyear Jasjit S. Ahluwalia Peter M. Monti |
| author_facet | Mollie A. Monnig Samantha E. Clark Hayley Treloar Padovano Alexander W. Sokolovsky Kimberly Goodyear Jasjit S. Ahluwalia Peter M. Monti |
| author_sort | Mollie A. Monnig |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background and Aims: Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) are highly effective in improving treatment outcomes and reducing overdose. Concerns about interrupted access to critical MOUD services led to expansion of telemedicine services during the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. The current study tested the hypothesis that telemedicine usage and healthcare coverage would be significantly associated with access to MOUD in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: A cross-sectional online survey was administered to a non-probability sample from June 18-July 19, 2020 using the Amazon Mechanical Turk platform. Setting: Northeastern United States during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time of the survey, federal regulators had waived the longstanding requirement for in-office visits for MOUD prescription receipt and provided guidance on increasing third-party payer reimbursement rates for telehealth visits in order to mitigate barriers to care associated with COVID-19 safety guidelines. Participants: Individuals 18 years or older residing in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, or Rhode Island were eligible to complete the survey. The analytic sample was participants who reported using opioids not as prescribed by a physician in the past seven days. Measurements: Demographics, telemedicine usage, and healthcare coverage were assessed as explanatory variables. The primary outcome was whether participants reported ability to access MOUD in the past four weeks. Findings: In this sample of individuals who used illicit opioids in the past week (N = 191), one in two individuals who utilized telehealth or had healthcare coverage were able to access MOUD, whereas only one in five of their respective counterparts who did not have telehealth access or healthcare coverage were able to access these medications. Conclusions: Telemedicine and healthcare coverage were associated with greater MOUD access early in the COVID-19 pandemic, when barriers to care were high. Such findings speak to the importance of not only extending but also formalizing temporary policy changes instituted during the pandemic to allow MOUD prescribing via telemedicine. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T23:12:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fc55310fc8f5463c8f8278d6b2814744 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2352-8532 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T23:12:03Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Addictive Behaviors Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-fc55310fc8f5463c8f8278d6b28147442023-12-15T07:24:56ZengElsevierAddictive Behaviors Reports2352-85322023-12-0118100515Access to medication for opioid use disorder supported by telemedicine and healthcare coverage: A web-based survey during the COVID-19 pandemicMollie A. Monnig0Samantha E. Clark1Hayley Treloar Padovano2Alexander W. Sokolovsky3Kimberly Goodyear4Jasjit S. Ahluwalia5Peter M. Monti6Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA; Center for Addiction and Disease Risk Exacerbation, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA; Corresponding author at: Box G-S121-5, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA.Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA; Center for Addiction and Disease Risk Exacerbation, Brown University, Providence, RI, USACenter for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA; Center for Addiction and Disease Risk Exacerbation, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA; Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University, Providence, RI, USACenter for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA; Center for Addiction and Disease Risk Exacerbation, Brown University, Providence, RI, USACenter for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA; Center for Addiction and Disease Risk Exacerbation, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA; Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University, Providence, RI, USACenter for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA; Center for Addiction and Disease Risk Exacerbation, Brown University, Providence, RI, USACenter for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA; Center for Addiction and Disease Risk Exacerbation, Brown University, Providence, RI, USABackground and Aims: Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) are highly effective in improving treatment outcomes and reducing overdose. Concerns about interrupted access to critical MOUD services led to expansion of telemedicine services during the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. The current study tested the hypothesis that telemedicine usage and healthcare coverage would be significantly associated with access to MOUD in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: A cross-sectional online survey was administered to a non-probability sample from June 18-July 19, 2020 using the Amazon Mechanical Turk platform. Setting: Northeastern United States during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time of the survey, federal regulators had waived the longstanding requirement for in-office visits for MOUD prescription receipt and provided guidance on increasing third-party payer reimbursement rates for telehealth visits in order to mitigate barriers to care associated with COVID-19 safety guidelines. Participants: Individuals 18 years or older residing in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, or Rhode Island were eligible to complete the survey. The analytic sample was participants who reported using opioids not as prescribed by a physician in the past seven days. Measurements: Demographics, telemedicine usage, and healthcare coverage were assessed as explanatory variables. The primary outcome was whether participants reported ability to access MOUD in the past four weeks. Findings: In this sample of individuals who used illicit opioids in the past week (N = 191), one in two individuals who utilized telehealth or had healthcare coverage were able to access MOUD, whereas only one in five of their respective counterparts who did not have telehealth access or healthcare coverage were able to access these medications. Conclusions: Telemedicine and healthcare coverage were associated with greater MOUD access early in the COVID-19 pandemic, when barriers to care were high. Such findings speak to the importance of not only extending but also formalizing temporary policy changes instituted during the pandemic to allow MOUD prescribing via telemedicine.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352853223000378COVID-19 pandemicmedication for opioid use disordermedication assisted treatmenttelemedicinehealthcare coveragetreatment access |
| spellingShingle | Mollie A. Monnig Samantha E. Clark Hayley Treloar Padovano Alexander W. Sokolovsky Kimberly Goodyear Jasjit S. Ahluwalia Peter M. Monti Access to medication for opioid use disorder supported by telemedicine and healthcare coverage: A web-based survey during the COVID-19 pandemic Addictive Behaviors Reports COVID-19 pandemic medication for opioid use disorder medication assisted treatment telemedicine healthcare coverage treatment access |
| title | Access to medication for opioid use disorder supported by telemedicine and healthcare coverage: A web-based survey during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full | Access to medication for opioid use disorder supported by telemedicine and healthcare coverage: A web-based survey during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Access to medication for opioid use disorder supported by telemedicine and healthcare coverage: A web-based survey during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Access to medication for opioid use disorder supported by telemedicine and healthcare coverage: A web-based survey during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_short | Access to medication for opioid use disorder supported by telemedicine and healthcare coverage: A web-based survey during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_sort | access to medication for opioid use disorder supported by telemedicine and healthcare coverage a web based survey during the covid 19 pandemic |
| topic | COVID-19 pandemic medication for opioid use disorder medication assisted treatment telemedicine healthcare coverage treatment access |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352853223000378 |
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