A randomized clinical trial of the Recovery Line among methadone treatment patients with ongoing illicit drug use.

Background: Relapse, drug use, and treatment dropout are common challenges facing patients receiving methadone. Though effective, multiple barriers to face-to-face counseling exist. The Recovery Line (RL), an automated, self-management system based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, is a phone-based adjunctive treatment that provides low cost, consistent delivery and immediate therapeutic availability 24 h a day.

Methods: The current study was a 12-week randomized clinical efficacy trial of treatment-as-usual (TAU) only or RL + TAU for methadone treatment patients with continued illicit drug use (N = 82). Previous small trial phases evaluated methods to increase participant engagement and use of the RL and were incorporated into the current RL version. Primary outcomes were days of self-reported illicit drug abstinence and urine screens negative for illicit drugs.

Results: Days of self-reported illicit drug abstinence improved for patients in RL + TAU but not in TAU. Percent of urine screens negative for illicit drugs, coping skills efficacy, and retention in methadone treatment did not differ by condition. Patients in RL + TAU attended more substance use disorder treatment and self-help group sessions during treatment than those in TAU. RL system use was generally low and more system use was correlated with abstinence outcomes.

Conclusions: Although the RL did not impact urine screen outcomes, it increases self-reported abstinence. Additional methods to increase patient engagement with automated, self-management systems for substance use disorder are needed.