The impact of COVID-19 and rapid policy exemptions expanding on access to medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD): A nationwide Veterans Health Administration cohort study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In March 2020, Veterans Health Administration (VHA) enacted policies to expand treatment for Veterans with opioid use disorder (OUD) during COVID-19. In this study, we evaluate whether COVID-19 and subsequent OUD treatment policies impacted receipt of therapy/counseling and medication for OUD (MOUD).

Methods

Using VHA's nationwide electronic health record data, we compared outcomes between a comparison cohort derived using data from prior to COVID-19 (October 2017-December 2019) and a pandemic-exposed cohort (January 2019-March 2021). Primary outcomes included receipt of therapy/counseling or any MOUD (any/none); secondary outcomes included the number of therapy/counseling sessions attended, and the average percentage of days covered (PDC) by, and months prescribe

SUBMITTER: Livingston NA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9624112 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature