Mobile Telemedicine for Buprenorphine Treatment in Rural Populations With Opioid Use Disorder.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

The demand for medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in rural US counties far outweighs their availability. Novel approaches to extend treatment capacity include telemedicine (TM) and mobile treatment on demand; however, their combined use has not been reported or evaluated.

Objective

To evaluate the use of a TM mobile treatment unit (TM-MTU) to improve access to MOUD for individuals living in an underserved rural area.

Design, setting, and participants

This quality improvement study evaluated data collected from adult outpatients with a diagnosis of OUD enrolled in the TM-MTU initiative from February 2019 (program inception) to June 2020. Program staff traveled to rural areas in a modified recreational vehicle equipped with medical, videoconferencing,

SUBMITTER: Weintraub E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8397932 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature