Perspectives of Patients Receiving Telemedicine Services for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment: A Qualitative Analysis of User Experiences

Overview

Journal J Addict Med

Specialty Psychiatry

Date 2022 Jul 21

PMID 35861337

Authors

Jessica L Sousa

Pushpa Raja

Haiden A Huskamp

Ateev Mehrotra

Alisa B Busch

Michael L Barnett

Lori Uscher-Pines

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objective: Telemedicine for opioid use disorder (tele-OUD) has the potential to increase access to medications for OUD (MOUD). Fully virtual tele-OUD services, in which all care is provided via telemedicine, are increasingly common, yet few studies document the experiences of patients who use such services. Understanding patient perspectives is one of multiple considerations to inform the regulation and reimbursement of tele-OUD services.

Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 adults receiving care from one fully virtual tele-OUD service who had received 3 to 5 weeks of treatment. Analyses were conducted using an inductive and deductive approach informed by the modified Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model.

Results: Over three quarters of patients with past experience receiving in-person MOUD treatment described tele-OUD as more advantageous with its key strength being more patient centered. Over three quarters of patients said they felt tele-OUD helped to ameliorate social barriers to seeking treatment, and nearly all said they appreciated the speed at which they were able to initiate MOUD treatment via tele-OUD. Surprisingly, the pandemic was not among the factors that influenced patient interest in tele-OUD.

Conclusions: Patients engaged in one fully virtual tele-OUD service described unique advantages of tele-OUD. More research is needed to determine the appropriateness of tele-OUD for people in various stages of recovery, and data on long-term treatment outcomes are needed to inform decisions regarding the regulation and reimbursement of fully virtual and hybrid care models for OUD.

Citing Articles

Patient and clinician experiences with the implementation of telemedicine and related adaptations in office-based buprenorphine treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study.

Davoust M, Bazzi A, Blakemore S, Blodgett J, Cheng A, Fielman S Addict Sci Clin Pract. 2025; 20(1):21.

PMID: 40033433 PMC: 11877703. DOI: 10.1186/s13722-025-00536-3.

Patient and provider experiences with opioid use disorder care delivered via telehealth: A systematic mixed-studies review.

Aronowitz S, Zucker N, Thompson M, James R, Clapp J, Mandell D Drug Alcohol Depend. 2024; 266:112522.

PMID: 39662356 PMC: 11685034. DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2024.112522.

Patient satisfaction with telemedicine for substance-related disorders.

Farias M, Badino M, Fuster de Apocada M Digit Health. 2024; 10:20552076241240974.

PMID: 39108256 PMC: 11301735. DOI: 10.1177/20552076241240974.

Home care for patients with opioid use disorders: A qualitative study of registered nurses' experiences of pain management.

Jakobsen M, Tormoen T, Klarare A, Steindal S Nurs Open. 2024; 11(6):e2212.

PMID: 38867380 PMC: 11168962. DOI: 10.1002/nop2.2212.

Patient and Clinician Experiences with the Implementation of Telemedicine and Related Adaptations in Office-Based Buprenorphine Treatment During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study.

Davoust M, Bazzi A, Blakemore S, Blodgett J, Cheng A, Fielman S Res Sq. 2024; .

PMID: 38746460 PMC: 11092823. DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4272282/v1.

References

Cimperman M, Makovec Brencic M, Trkman P . Analyzing older users' home telehealth services acceptance behavior-applying an Extended UTAUT model. Int J Med Inform. 2016; 90:22-31. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2016.03.002. View

Blanco C, Volkow N . Management of opioid use disorder in the USA: present status and future directions. Lancet. 2019; 393(10182):1760-1772. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)33078-2. View

Uscher-Pines L, Sousa J, Raja P, Mehrotra A, Barnett M, Huskamp H . Treatment of opioid use disorder during COVID-19: Experiences of clinicians transitioning to telemedicine. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2020; 118:108124. PMC: 7456454. DOI: 10.1016/j.jsat.2020.108124. View

Saloner B, Karthikeyan S . Changes in Substance Abuse Treatment Use Among Individuals With Opioid Use Disorders in the United States, 2004-2013. JAMA. 2015; 314(14):1515-7. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2015.10345. View

Brunet N, Moore D, Wischik D, Mattocks K, Rosen M . Increasing buprenorphine access for veterans with opioid use disorder in rural clinics using telemedicine. Subst Abus. 2020; 43(1):39-46. DOI: 10.1080/08897077.2020.1728466. View

Uscher-Pines L, Huskamp H, Mehrotra A . Treating Patients With Opioid Use Disorder in Their Homes: An Emerging Treatment Model. JAMA. 2020; 324(1):39-40. PMC: 7905739. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2020.3940. View

Mehtani N, Ristau J, Snyder H, Surlyn C, Eveland J, Smith-Bernardin S . COVID-19: A catalyst for change in telehealth service delivery for opioid use disorder management. Subst Abus. 2021; 42(2):205-212. DOI: 10.1080/08897077.2021.1890676. View

Huskamp H, Busch A, Uscher-Pines L, Barnett M, Riedel L, Mehrotra A . Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder Among Commercially Insured Patients in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA. 2020; 324(23):2440-2442. PMC: 7739126. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2020.21512. View

Tasso K, Behar-Horenstein L, Aumiller A, Gamble K, Grimaudo N, Guin P . Assessing patient satisfaction and quality of care through observation and interview. Hosp Top. 2002; 80(3):4-10. DOI: 10.1080/00185860209597996. View

10.

Shiferaw K, Mengiste S, Gullslett M, Zeleke A, Tilahun B, Tebeje T . Healthcare providers' acceptance of telemedicine and preference of modalities during COVID-19 pandemics in a low-resource setting: An extended UTAUT model. PLoS One. 2021; 16(4):e0250220. PMC: 8061916. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250220. View

11.

Chan B, Gean E, Arkhipova-Jenkins I, Gilbert J, Hilgart J, Fiordalisi C . Retention Strategies for Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in Adults: A Rapid Evidence Review. J Addict Med. 2020; 15(1):74-84. PMC: 7864607. DOI: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000000739. View

12.

Martin S, Chiodo L, Bosse J, Wilson A . The Next Stage of Buprenorphine Care for Opioid Use Disorder. Ann Intern Med. 2018; 169(9):628-635. DOI: 10.7326/M18-1652. View

13.

Mazor K, Clauser B, Field T, Yood R, Gurwitz J . A demonstration of the impact of response bias on the results of patient satisfaction surveys. Health Serv Res. 2002; 37(5):1403-17. PMC: 1464019. DOI: 10.1111/1475-6773.11194. View

14.

Wu L, Zhu H, Swartz M . Treatment utilization among persons with opioid use disorder in the United States. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2016; 169:117-127. PMC: 5223737. DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2016.10.015. View

15.

Ware P, Dorai M, Ross H, Cafazzo J, Laporte A, Boodoo C . Patient Adherence to a Mobile Phone-Based Heart Failure Telemonitoring Program: A Longitudinal Mixed-Methods Study. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2019; 7(2):e13259. PMC: 6412156. DOI: 10.2196/13259. View

16.

Weiss R, Rao V . The Prescription Opioid Addiction Treatment Study: What have we learned. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2017; 173 Suppl 1:S48-S54. PMC: 6866670. DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2016.12.001. View

17.

Day E, Mitcheson L . Psychosocial interventions in opiate substitution treatment services: does the evidence provide a case for optimism or nihilism?. Addiction. 2017; 112(8):1329-1336. DOI: 10.1111/add.13644. View

18.

Cole T, Robinson D, Kelley-Freeman A, Gandhi D, Greenblatt A, Weintraub E . Patient Satisfaction With Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment via Telemedicine: Brief Literature Review and Development of a New Assessment. Front Public Health. 2021; 8:557275. PMC: 7859509. DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.557275. View

19.

Lin L, Casteel D, Shigekawa E, Weyrich M, Roby D, McMenamin S . Telemedicine-delivered treatment interventions for substance use disorders: A systematic review. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2019; 101:38-49. DOI: 10.1016/j.jsat.2019.03.007. View

20.

Ekstrom V, Johansson M . Sort of a nice distance: a qualitative study of the experiences of therapists working with internet-based treatment of problematic substance use. Addict Sci Clin Pract. 2019; 14(1):44. PMC: 6880358. DOI: 10.1186/s13722-019-0173-1. View