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Published Online: 18 July 2023

Trends in Opioid Use Disorder Outpatient Treatment and Telehealth Utilization Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Kayla N. Tormohlen, Ph.D., M.P.H. [email protected], Matthew D. Eisenberg, Ph.D., Michael I. Fingerhood, M.D., Jiani Yu, Ph.D., Alexander D. McCourt, Ph.D., J.D., Elizabeth A. Stuart, Ph.D., Lainie Rutkow, Ph.D., J.D., Luis Quintero, Ph.D., Sarah A. White, M.S.P.H., and Emma E. McGinty, Ph.D., M.S.Authors Info & Affiliations
Publication: Psychiatric Services
Volume 75, Number 1
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.20230102
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Abstract

Objective:

The authors examined trends in opioid use disorder treatment and in-person and telehealth modalities before and after COVID-19 pandemic onset among patients who had received treatment prepandemic.

Methods:

The sample included 13,113 adults with commercial insurance or Medicare Advantage and receiving opioid use disorder treatment between March 2018 and February 2019. Trends in opioid use disorder outpatient treatment, treatment with medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), and in-person and telehealth modalities were examined 1 year before pandemic onset and 2 years after (March 2019–February 2022).

Results:

From March 2019 to February 2022, the proportion of patients with opioid use disorder outpatient and MOUD visits declined by 2.8 and 0.3 percentage points, respectively. Prepandemic, 98.6% of outpatient visits were in person; after pandemic onset, at least 34.9% of patients received outpatient care via telehealth.

Conclusions:

Disruptions in opioid use disorder outpatient and MOUD treatments were marginal during the pandemic, possibly because of increased telehealth utilization.

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Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Psychiatric Services
Go to Psychiatric Services
Psychiatric Services
Volume 75 • Number 1 • January 01, 2024
Pages: 72 - 75
PubMed: 37461819

History

Received: 27 February 2023
Revision received: 11 May 2023
Accepted: 8 June 2023
Published online: 18 July 2023
Published in print: January 01, 2024

Keywords

  1. Public health
  2. Outpatient treatment
  3. Substance use disorder
  4. Covid-19
  5. Opioid use disorder

Authors

Details

Kayla N. Tormohlen, Ph.D., M.P.H. [email protected]
Departments of Health Policy and Management (Tormohlen, Eisenberg, McCourt, Stuart, Rutkow, White) and Mental Health (Fingerhood, Stuart), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore; Department of Population Health Sciences, Division of Health Policy and Economics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City (Yu, McGinty); Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, Washington, D.C. (Quintero).
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Matthew D. Eisenberg, Ph.D.
Departments of Health Policy and Management (Tormohlen, Eisenberg, McCourt, Stuart, Rutkow, White) and Mental Health (Fingerhood, Stuart), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore; Department of Population Health Sciences, Division of Health Policy and Economics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City (Yu, McGinty); Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, Washington, D.C. (Quintero).
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Michael I. Fingerhood, M.D.
Departments of Health Policy and Management (Tormohlen, Eisenberg, McCourt, Stuart, Rutkow, White) and Mental Health (Fingerhood, Stuart), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore; Department of Population Health Sciences, Division of Health Policy and Economics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City (Yu, McGinty); Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, Washington, D.C. (Quintero).
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Jiani Yu, Ph.D.
Departments of Health Policy and Management (Tormohlen, Eisenberg, McCourt, Stuart, Rutkow, White) and Mental Health (Fingerhood, Stuart), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore; Department of Population Health Sciences, Division of Health Policy and Economics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City (Yu, McGinty); Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, Washington, D.C. (Quintero).
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Alexander D. McCourt, Ph.D., J.D.
Departments of Health Policy and Management (Tormohlen, Eisenberg, McCourt, Stuart, Rutkow, White) and Mental Health (Fingerhood, Stuart), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore; Department of Population Health Sciences, Division of Health Policy and Economics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City (Yu, McGinty); Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, Washington, D.C. (Quintero).
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Elizabeth A. Stuart, Ph.D.
Departments of Health Policy and Management (Tormohlen, Eisenberg, McCourt, Stuart, Rutkow, White) and Mental Health (Fingerhood, Stuart), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore; Department of Population Health Sciences, Division of Health Policy and Economics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City (Yu, McGinty); Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, Washington, D.C. (Quintero).
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Lainie Rutkow, Ph.D., J.D.
Departments of Health Policy and Management (Tormohlen, Eisenberg, McCourt, Stuart, Rutkow, White) and Mental Health (Fingerhood, Stuart), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore; Department of Population Health Sciences, Division of Health Policy and Economics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City (Yu, McGinty); Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, Washington, D.C. (Quintero).
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Luis Quintero, Ph.D.
Departments of Health Policy and Management (Tormohlen, Eisenberg, McCourt, Stuart, Rutkow, White) and Mental Health (Fingerhood, Stuart), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore; Department of Population Health Sciences, Division of Health Policy and Economics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City (Yu, McGinty); Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, Washington, D.C. (Quintero).
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Sarah A. White, M.S.P.H.
Departments of Health Policy and Management (Tormohlen, Eisenberg, McCourt, Stuart, Rutkow, White) and Mental Health (Fingerhood, Stuart), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore; Department of Population Health Sciences, Division of Health Policy and Economics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City (Yu, McGinty); Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, Washington, D.C. (Quintero).
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Emma E. McGinty, Ph.D., M.S.
Departments of Health Policy and Management (Tormohlen, Eisenberg, McCourt, Stuart, Rutkow, White) and Mental Health (Fingerhood, Stuart), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore; Department of Population Health Sciences, Division of Health Policy and Economics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City (Yu, McGinty); Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, Washington, D.C. (Quintero).
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Notes

Send correspondence to Dr. Tormohlen ([email protected]).

Competing Interests

The authors report no financial relationships with commercial interests.

Funding Information

This study was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (grant R01 DA-053232).The study sponsor did not play a role in the study design, data analyses and interpretation, writing of the manuscript, or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

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