Study shows both types of virtual care kept VA patients from dropping out of medication-based treatment for opioid use disorder.
- Kara Gavin
For people with opioid addiction, many hurdles stand in the way of getting effective treatment - and COVID-19 could have made it harder.
But with widespread implementation of telehealth, a new study shows, more people are receiving treatment, even amid the pandemic.
The national study looked at the care received by veterans who received buprenorphine to treat their opioid use disorder both before and after the pandemic shifted care to telehealth visits in early 2020.
It shows that virtual visits with addiction care providers allowed many patients to stay on their medication to support their recovery throughout the first year of the pandemic.
