Study: Telehealth associated with reduced opioid overdose during pandemic

Medicare patients who accessed opioid use disorder treatment through telehealth services during the pandemic were more likely to stay in treatment and less likely to experience an overdose than patients without telehealth access to OUD treatment, according to a federal study published last week in JAMA Psychiatry.

“Telehealth is a valuable service and when coupled with medications for opioid use disorder can be lifesaving,” said Wilson Compton, M.D., deputy director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and senior author of the study. “This study adds to the evidence showing that expanded access to these services could have a longer-term positive impact if continued.”