The impact of increased telehealth use on the treatment of substance use disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a shift from in-person substance use disorder (SUD) treatment to virtual telehealth (TH) visits, creating opportunities to assess the impact of virtual visits on SUD treatment.

Methods

This study utilized retrospective, de-identified, electronic health record (EHR) data from Oracle EHR Real-World Data to examine the impact of TH on SUD treatment. Patients with a qualifying SUD diagnosis from 141 U.S. health systems were included and divided into pre-TH (January 1, 2017 through January 1, 2019) and COVID (January 1, 2020 through January 1, 2022) cohorts. This study analyzed TH utilization, medications for SUD (MSUD) prescribing, drug-related events, and mental health crises, comparing patient outcomes where the treating clinician

SUBMITTER: Qeadan F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11978320 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature