Study Suggests Few Disruptions in Treatment for OUD During the Pandemic

Disruptions in health care services during the COVID-19 pandemic did not significantly reduce the ability of adults to remain in treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), suggests areport published this week inPsychiatric Services. The authors believe that access to telehealth services was partially responsible for the continuation of care during this period.“Among a group of adults with commercial insurance or Medicare Advantage who had received opioid use disorder treatment before the COVID-19 pandemic, we observed minimal changes in outpatient and [medications for OUD] treatment utilization in the 2 years after pandemic onset,” wrote Kayla N. Tor mohlen, Ph.D., M.P.H., of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and colleagues. The authors noted it is unclear if the same applies to patients covered by Medicaid and patients without insurance.The researchers analyzed deidentified administrative insurance claims for adults aged 18 or older who were covered by commercial insurance or Medicare Advantage from March 2018 to February 2022. To compare OUD treatment trends before the start of the pandemic with those in the years that followed, only patients who had an insurance claim indicating inpatient or outpatient treatment for OUD between March 2018 and February 2019 were included in the analysis. The final sample included 13,113 adults.In March 2019, 10.6% of the patients had an OUD outpatient visit; by February 2022, 7.8% of the patients had an OUD outpatient visit ...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: COVID-19 in-person appointments medication for OUD opioid use disorder outpatient treatment pandemic Psychiatric Services telehealth Source Type: research