Emerging
Practices that show potential to achieve desirable public health outcomes in a specific real-life setting and produce early results that are consistent with the objectives of the activities and thus indicate effectiveness.

The effectiveness of telemedicine-delivered opioid agonist therapy in a supervised clinical setting

Eibl, J. K., Gauthier, G., Pellegrini, D., Daiter, J., Varenbut, M., Hogenbirk, J. C., & Marsh, D. C.

Release Date:

Peer Review Study

Organizational Change/ Development
Policy Change/ Development
Healthcare Access and Quality
Social and Community Context
Tools Included
Outside U.S.
ACCESS RESOURCE
Facemask

Mitigation and Prevention

This article presents the results of a non-randomized cohort study comparing opioid agonist therapy (medication assisted treatment [MAT]) for opioid use disorder received via telemedicine, in-person, or a mix of telemedicine and in-person visits. The study was conducted between January 2011 and June 2012 in Ontario, Canada. The telemedicine group had the highest one-year treatment retention rate, followed by the mixed group, and the in-person group had the lowest one-year treatment retention rate. The results suggest telemedicine could be an effective means of increasing access to MAT for opioid use disorder. It should be noted that the study was conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and replicability will vary based on local resources and MAT regulations.

Resource Details

Outcomes of Interest

Priority Population(s)

People With Substance Use Disorders

Setting(s) of Implementation

Geographic Area of Implementation

Implementation Period

2011-2012