Article
Psychiatry
Christopher M. Jones, Carla Shoff, Carlos Blanco, Jan L. Losby, Shari M. Ling, Wilson M. Compton
Summary: Federal emergency authorities were used to expand clinical telehealth services for opioid use disorder (OUD) during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examined the association between receipt of telehealth services and medications for OUD (MOUD) with fatal drug overdoses before and during the pandemic.
Article
Surgery
Anne C. Fernandez, Amy Bohnert, Vidhya Gunaseelan, Mehrdad Motamed, Jennifer F. Waljee, Chad M. Brummett
Summary: This study assessed the concordance between Michigan's PDMP and a national pharmacy prescription database in perioperative opioid fulfillment data. The findings suggest that the PDMP is more reliable in detecting patients with persistent opioid use after surgery compared to Surescripts.
Article
Biology
Hongsong Feng, Jian Jiang, Guo-Wei Wei
Summary: Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a chronic and relapsing condition characterized by continued and compulsive use of opioids despite harmful consequences. Drug repurposing using machine learning is an efficient and cost-effective approach for discovering medications for OUD treatment.
COMPUTERS IN BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Whitney Bremer, Karma Plaisance, Drew Walker, Matthew Bonn, Jennifer S. Love, Jeanmarie Perrone, Abeed Sarker
Summary: Using social media (Reddit) posts and published literature, this study categorized and quantified barriers to medication treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). The findings from both sources revealed that stigma and insurance/cost were the most common barriers reported.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Emergency Medicine
Siri Shastry, Ishak Nobel, Lisa R. Allen, Lynne D. Richardson, Kavey Vidal, Alex F. Manini
Summary: This study found that the prevalence of medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in emergency department patients with opioid overdose has increased significantly over time, with methadone showing higher odds of misuse and longer hospital length of stay compared to buprenorphine and naltrexone. However, patients with prior buprenorphine prescriptions had shorter hospital stays.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Dennis P. Watson, James A. Swartz, Lisa Robison-Taylor, Mary Ellen Mackesy-Amiti, Kim Erwin, Nicole Gastala, Antonio D. Jimenez, Monte D. Staton, Sarah Messmer
Summary: This study aims to test an intervention (STAMINA) that rapidly connects high-risk opioid users to medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) using a telemedicine platform. Conducted as a randomized controlled trial at three SSP sites, the study will recruit 273 participants and collect data through structured interviews and saliva drug tests to compare the probabilities of successful treatment linkage, days retained in treatment, and post-baseline opioid and other drug use between the two arms.
Review
Health Care Sciences & Services
Aileen G. Guillen, Minal Reddy, Soheil Saadat, Bharath Chakravarthy
Summary: The integration of telehealth technology with medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder has shown benefits such as improved patient satisfaction, retention rates, reduced healthcare costs, and increased access to and usage of buprenorphine. These positive outcomes are attributed to the expansion of telehealth technologies and relaxation of federal guidelines in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
TELEMEDICINE AND E-HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Davida M. Schiff, Timothy C. Nielsen, Bettina B. Hoeppner, Mishka Terplan, Scott E. Hadland, Dana Bernson, Shelly F. Greenfield, Judith Bernstein, Monica Bharel, Julia Reddy, Elsie M. Taveras, John F. Kelly, Timothy E. Wilens
Summary: The study found that about two-thirds of women with opioid use disorder continued using medications for opioid use disorder for a full year after delivery, but rates of medication continuation varied significantly by race and ethnicity, degree of use of prenatal medications for opioid use disorder, and incarceration status. Prioritizing medication continuation across the perinatal continuum, enhancing sex-specific and family-friendly recovery supports, and expanding access to medications for opioid use disorder despite being incarcerated can help improve postpartum medication adherence.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Substance Abuse
Mara A. G. Hollander, Chung-Chou H. Chang, Antoine B. Douaihy, Eric Hulsey, Julie M. Donohue
Summary: Despite evidence showing that using evidence-based medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) can lower mortality risk, only 20% of individuals with OUD receive MOUD. Black patients are less likely than White patients to initiate MOUD. Various factors such as criminal justice and human services were measured in relation to MOUD initiation disparities by race, with mediators explaining around one-fifth of the variation in initiation related to race.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE
(2021)
Article
Substance Abuse
Chris Delcher, Daniel R. Harris, Changwe Park, Gail K. Strickler, Jeffery Talbert, Patricia R. Freeman
Summary: The study examined trends in opioid-related multiple provider episodes (MPEs) in a large, commercially-insured population in the U.S. from 2010 to 2017. Results showed a significant decline in quarterly MPE rates, with nearly one fifth of commercially-insured enrollees identified as "doctor shoppers" having a cancer diagnosis. The findings suggest the fading of opioid "shopping" flags and the need for more nuanced approaches to maintain accuracy while avoiding unintended consequences.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE
(2021)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Marlene C. C. Lira, Cynthia Jimes, M. Justin Coffey
Summary: Limited studies have been conducted on the outcomes of telemedicine treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) in rural populations. This retrospective cohort study found that telemedicine is an effective approach for treating OUD in rural populations, with comparable retention and adherence rates to in-person treatment.
TELEMEDICINE AND E-HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Jiunling Janet Ho, Katie Fitzgerald Jones, Zachary Sager, Kyle Neale, Julie W. Childers, Elizabeth Loggers, Jessica S. Merlin
Summary: This study explored the barriers for hospice and palliative care (HPC) clinicians in prescribing buprenorphine as medication treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). The results showed that despite their interest, HPC clinicians faced various barriers, including discomfort managing concurrent pain, concerns about impacts on practice, unsupportive practice culture, etc. To improve care for patients with painful serious illness and OUD, measures such as tailored clinician education, mentorship on buprenorphine use, and changes in culture and practice are proposed.
JOURNAL OF PAIN AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Clinical
Lewei A. Lin, John C. Fortney, Amy S. B. Bohnert, Lara N. Coughlin, Lan Zhang, John D. Piette
Summary: The study found that the use of tele-buprenorphine in VHA veterans increased annually, with differences in characteristics between tele-buprenorphine patients and those receiving in-person treatment, as well as longer treatment supply times.
JOURNAL OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT
(2022)
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Karan Patel, Sean Bunachita, Ank A. Agarwal, Aaron Lyon, Urvish K. Patel
Summary: Opioid use has been on the rise globally, leading to an increase in opioid use disorder (OUD) and overdose-related deaths. While new medications and therapies have emerged to help treat addiction, barriers such as geographical disparities, physician stigma, and training requirements make access to treatment difficult for patients.
CUREUS JOURNAL OF MEDICAL SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Lauren Caton, Hannah Cheng, Helene Chokron Garneau, Tammy Fisher, Briana Harris-Mills, Brian Hurley, Sandra Newman, Mark P. McGovern
Summary: With the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, many federal agencies relaxed policies regulating opioid use disorder treatment, leading to adaptations in primary care practices. The majority of clinics shifted to virtual medical and behavioral health visits, with an increase in patient demand for behavioral health services. These adaptations may be temporary and further evaluation is needed to determine their long-term impact on patient outcomes post-COVID-19.
JOURNAL OF GENERAL INTERNAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Education & Educational Research
Jason S. Egginton, Lauren Textor, Erin Knoebel, Deborah McWilliams, Marty Aleman, Barbara Yawn
JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH
(2013)
Article
Substance Abuse
Lauren Textor, Joseph Friedman, Philippe Bourgois, Shoshana Aronowitz, Caty Simon, Marie Jauffret-Roustide, Sarah Namirembe, Sarah Brothers, Ryan McNeil, Kelly Ray Knight, Helena Hansen
Summary: This article explores the situation of rural areas in the US overdose crisis and highlights the exaggerated or misconceived importance placed on them in the past. However, differences between rural and urban areas still play a significant role in the inequality of overdose mortality when more detailed geographic analysis and socioeconomic indicators are considered. Using national overdose data from 1999 to 2021, the study illustrates the intersectional importance of rural areas for overdose surveillance and offers recommendations for incorporating these insights into future efforts.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DRUG POLICY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Substance Abuse
Jeremy Levenson, Lauren Textor, Ricky Bluthenthal, Anna Darby, Rafik Wahbi, Mark-Anthony Clayton-Johnson
Summary: Care based on harm reduction principles and movements against police and prison abolition have the potential to address the root causes of harm and violence in drug-related crises, policing, and punishment. The interconnectedness of the United States' overdose crisis, drug-related harm, policing, and punishment highlights the need for both harm reduction and abolition movements to transform the system and prevent premature suffering and death.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DRUG POLICY
(2023)
Article
Anthropology
Lauren Textor, William Schlesinger
Summary: This paper uses ethnographic evidence from Southern California to demonstrate how efforts to minimize risks through PrEP and opioid prescription regulation can paradoxically generate new forms of risks. It argues that the logic of deservingness disconnects clinical evaluations of risk from patients' lived experiences, leading to iatrogenesis.
ANTHROPOLOGY & MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Family Studies
Roya Ijadi-Maghsoodi, Eraka Bath, Mekeila Cook, Lauren Textor, Elizabeth Barnert
CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT
(2018)