ArticleJournal of substance abuse treatment2022
Comparing telemedicine to in-person buprenorphine treatment in U.S. veterans with opioid use disorder.
Article in Journal of substance abuse treatment, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review of remotely delivered contingency management treatment for substance use.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2023Pooled it
- Telehealth in rheumatology: the 2021 Arab League of Rheumatology Best Practice Guidelines.Rheumatology international · 2022Guideline
- Integrating Text Messaging in a Low Threshold Telebuprenorphine Program for New York City Residents with Opioid Use Disorder during COVID-19: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of addiction medicineTrial
- The Behavioral Health Treatment Engagement and Retention Learning Collaborative to Improve Receipt and Continuity of Medication Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder.Substance use & addiction journal · 2026Article
- "It could bring a lot of help to people that aren't getting help right now": A qualitative analysis of the impact of virtual care on access to primary care for people with opioid use disorder.PLOS digital health · 2026Article
- Factors influencing family physicians' willingness to prescribe opioid agonist therapy using virtual modalities: a qualitative analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Telemedicine-delivered treatment for substance use disorder: A scoping review.Journal of telemedicine and telecare · 2025Article
- Mental Health Providers' Challenges and Solutions in Prescribing Over Telemedicine: Content Analysis of Semistructured Interviews.JMIR human factors · 2025Article
- Virtual Primary Care for People With Opioid Use Disorder: Scoping Review of Current Strategies, Benefits, and Challenges.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Buprenorphine discontinuation in telehealth-only treatment for opioid use disorder: A longitudinal cohort analysis.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2024Observational
- Growing importance of high-volume buprenorphine prescribers in OUD treatment: 2009-2018.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2024Observational
- Service users' perception and attitude toward telemedicine-based treatment for substance use disorders: A qualitative study from India.Indian journal of psychiatry · 2023Article
- Trends in Use of Medication to Treat Opioid Use Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 10 State Medicaid Programs.JAMA health forum · 2023Article
- Cost-effectiveness of Increasing Buprenorphine Treatment Initiation, Duration, and Capacity Among Individuals Who Use Opioids.JAMA health forum · 2023Article
- The Use of Digital Health Services Among Patients and Citizens Living at Home: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Article
- Telemedicine Use and Quality of Opioid Use Disorder Treatment in the US During the COVID-19 Pandemic.JAMA network open · 2023Article
- Use of and Retention on Video, Telephone, and In-Person Buprenorphine Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic.JAMA network open · 2022Article
- Impact of COVID-19 Telehealth Policy Changes on Buprenorphine Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder.The American journal of psychiatry · 2022Article
- Telehealth-Based Delivery of Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder: a Critical Review of Recent Developments.Current psychiatry reports · 2022Review
- Comparative effectiveness of buprenorphine adherence with telemedicine vs. in-person for rural and urban patients.Journal of the American Pharmacists Association : JAPhAArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundTelemedicine-delivered buprenorphine (tele-buprenorphine) can potentially increase access to buprenorphine for patients with opioid use disorder (OUD), especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, but we know little about use in clinical care.
methodsThis study was a retrospective national cohort study of veterans diagnosed with opioid use disorder (OUD) receiving buprenorphine treatment from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) in fiscal years 2012-2019. The study examined trends in use of tele-buprenorphine and compared demographic and clinical characteristics in patients who received tele-buprenorphine versus those who received in-person treatment only.
resultsUtilization of tele-buprenorphine increased from 2.29% of buprenorphine patients in FY2012 (n = 187) to 7.96% (n = 1352) in FY2019 in VHA veterans nationally. Compared to patients receiving only in-person care, tele-buprenorphine patients were less likely to be male (AOR = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.73-0.98) or Black (AOR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.45-0.65). Tele-buprenorphine patients were more likely to be treated in community-based outpatient clinics rather than large medical centers (AOR = 2.91, 95% CI: 2.67-3.17) and to live in rural areas (AOR = 2.12, 95% CI:1.92-2.35). The median days supplied of buprenorphine treatment was 722 (interquartile range: 322-1459) among the tele-buprenorphine patients compared to 295 (interquartile range: 67-854) among patients who received treatment in-person.
conclusionsUse of telemedicine to deliver buprenorphine treatment in VHA increased 3.5-fold between 2012 and 2019, though overall use remained low prior to COVID-19. Tele-buprenorphine is a promising modality especially when treatment access is limited. However, we must continue to understand how practitioners and patient are using telemedicine and how these patients' outcomes compare to those using in-person care.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.