An Assessment of the One-Month Effectiveness of Telehealth Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder Using the Brief Addiction Monitor.

Objectives: Telehealth treatment with medication for opioid use disorder (teleMOUD) was made possible with regulations following the COVID-19 pandemic that permitted prescribing buprenorphine without an in-person visit. This study evaluates the self-reported outcomes of patients treated by teleMOUD using the Brief Addiction Monitor (BAM), a 17-question tool that assesses drug use, cravings, physical and psychological health, and psychosocial factors to produce 3 subset scores: substance use, risk factors, and protective factors.

Methods: Patients treated by a teleMOUD provider group operating in >30 states were asked to complete an app-based version of BAM at enrollment and at 1 month.

Evaluation of urine drug screen falsification of results among patients with opioid use disorder receiving treatment in a telehealth model of care.

Introduction: As telehealth models for treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) are expanding, the field does not know the reliability of urine drug screening (UDS) in this setting. The objective of this study is to determine the rate of falsification of UDS testing among patients with OUD in active treatment with buprenorphine via a telehealth provider.

Methods: This is a prospective cohort study of 899 randomly selected eligible patients, of which 392 participated in the final cohort that the study team used for analysis.

Implementation of a Novel Telehealth Patient Advisory Council.

Patient engagement in healthcare delivery processes has been increasingly emphasized in recent years, which can be accomplished in part by Patient Advisory Councils (PACs). Although well-established in brick-and-mortar facilities, the use of PACs in pure telehealth settings is limited. Bicycle Health, a digital health organization that provides biopsychosocial treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) via telehealth, sought to increase patient engagement regarding care delivery and innovation, ultimately launching a telehealth Patient Advisory Council.

An Innovative Case Management and Immigrant Onboarding Model Developed by the Sharewood Project in Massachu.

The Sharewood Project, a student-run free project developed by Tufts University School of Medicine students in 1997, provides limited medical care and social services to a diverse population in Malden, Massachusetts. The project plays an unusual role in introducing immigrants to the health care and education systems in Massachusetts.

Rural Appalachia Battling the Intersection of Two Crises: COVID-19 and Substance-Use Disorders.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, rural Appalachia is at great risk of unforeseen side effects including increased mortality from substance use disorders (SUDs). People living with SUDs are at increased risk for both exposure to and poor outcomes from COVID infection. The economic impacts of COVID-19 must also be considered.