THURSDAY, July 28, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Telemedicine could be a better way to get opioid addicts to seek out and stick with treatment, a new study suggests.

People referred to an addiction treatment clinic following a telemedicine evaluation were more likely to show up to their first appointment than those whose referral resulted from an ER visit, researchers reported recently in the Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment.

Those referred to addiction treatment through telemedicine also were more likely to stick with the program for at least a month.

“Our study shows that patients referred from telemedicine are more likely to follow up initially, and still be retained in care at 30 days,” said lead researcher Dr. Joshua Lynch, an associate professor of emergency medicine at the University of Buffalo in New York.

Long-term recovery from addiction requires consistent care, involving repeated outpatient visits as well as continuing use of treatment drugs like buprenorphine or methadone, researchers said.

“Patients with opioid use disorder often seek care in times of crisis in emergency departments,” said senior researcher Dr. Brian Clemency, a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Buffalo. “However, the emergency department may not be a good option for all patients. We wanted to see if telemedicine could be used as a gateway to ongoing care.”

For the study, researchers analyzed data on nearly 400 patients referred to addiction treatment between October 2020 and September 2022 through a network affiliated with the University of Buffalo.

Abut 65% of people referred through a telemedicine call showed up at their first clinic appointment, compared with just 32% of those referred through an ER visit, results showed.

Further, 53% of telemedicine patients were still in treatment after 30 days, versus 22% of those referred from an ER, researchers said.

It could be that doctors and nurses manning telemedicine services have better and more specific training at dealing with opioid addiction, the researchers said.

“Trying to educate hundreds of emergency department providers on the approach to opioid use disorder, evaluation, initiating medication and linking to treatment is very challenging,” said researcher Dr. Renoj Varughese, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Buffalo. “Emergency departments may have varying approaches and varying levels of interest in how they treat these patients.”

Telemedicine might also be a better option because it allows addicts to seek help promptly and privately, researchers added.

“Telemedicine allows us to provide care with minimal stigma, from the patient’s own home, with minimal waiting,” Lynch said in a university news release. “It gives us the ability to take some time and truly deliver effective one-on-one care.”  

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on addiction treatment.

SOURCE: University of Buffalo, news release, July 15, 2024