ArticleSubstance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy2022
Improving equity and access to buprenorphine treatment through telemedicine at syringe services programs.
Article in Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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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
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- "The Sky Didn't Fall": Patient and Clinician Experiences With Increased Buprenorphine Prescription Lengths During Pandemic-related Telehealth Expansion.Journal of addiction medicine · 2026Article
- Narrative Review of Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Changes During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Their Impact on American Indian/Alaska Native Communities.Nursing open · 2026Review
- Article
- Understanding the use of telemedicine across different opioid use disorder treatment models: A scoping review.Journal of telemedicine and telecare · 2025Article
- Exploring barriers and potential solutions before implementing a scale-up strategy to expand methadone coverage among people who inject drugs in Tajikistan.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2025Article
- Pilot Findings From the First Legalized Mobile Retail Pharmacy Clinic in the United States for Infectious Disease Treatment and Prevention Tailored to Reach People Who Use Drugs.Open forum infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Rural-urban disparities in the availability of hospital-based screening, medications for opioid use disorder, and addiction consult services.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2024Article
- Funding and Delivery of Syringe Services Programs in the United States, 2022.American journal of public health · 2024Article
- Project CHARIOT: study protocol for a hybrid type 1 effectiveness-implementation study of comprehensive tele-harm reduction for engagement of people who inject drugs in HIV prevention services.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2024Article
- Adaptation of the Tele-Harm Reduction intervention to promote initiation and retention in buprenorphine treatment among people who inject drugs: a retrospective cohort study.Annals of medicine · 2023Article
- Mobile service delivery in response to the opioid epidemic in Philadelphia.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2023Article
- Developing a Theoretically Informed Implementation Model for Telemedicine-Delivered Medication for Opioid Use Disorder: Qualitative Study With Key Informants.JMIR mental health · 2023Article
- Integrated Care Models: HIV and Substance Use.Current HIV/AIDS reports · 2023Review
- Availability of telehealth-based services at syringe services programs under the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.Harm reduction journal · 2023Article
- Three decades of research in substance use disorder treatment for syringe services program participants: a scoping review of the literature.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2023Article
- Study protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial to increase COVID-19 testing and vaccination among people who inject drugs in San Diego County.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2022Article
- The Role of Context in Integrating Buprenorphine into a Drop-In Center in Kampala, Uganda, Using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsIn the United States, access to buprenorphine remains low and disparities regarding who receives treatment have emerged. Federal laws have regulated buprenorphine delivery, ultimately limiting its implementation more broadly. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, federal agencies acted quickly to remove a legal barrier, effectively allowing people with opioid used disorder (OUD) to initiate buprenorphine treatment via telemedicine. Leveraging this policy shift, a low barrier buprenorphine treatment initiative via telemedicine was started at syringe service programs in California. We assessed early findings from participants reached by this model of treatment.
methodsIn May 2020, buprenorphine treatment was offered through a virtual platform to SSP participants in California. SSP staff connected interested participants to virtual appointments with medical providers in a private location. During these visits, clinicians conducted clinical assessments for diagnosing participants with OUD and developed an unsupervised home induction plan for individuals who were eligible. Participants were prescribed a 7-day supply of up to 16 mg daily buprenorphine or 16 mg buprenorphine-2 mg naloxone and asked to return the following week if interested in continuing treatment.
resultsFrom May 2020 to March 2021, the SSP-buprenorphine virtual care initiative inducted 115 participants onto treatment with 87% of participants inducted on the same day as their referral. Of those inducted, 58% were between the ages of 30 and 49 and 28% were cisgender female. Regarding participants' method of payment to reimburse buprenorphine costs, 92% of participants were covered by Medicare/Medicaid. Overall, 64% of participants returned for a second buprenorphine prescription refill.
conclusionsThese early findings suggest that this could be a promising approach to improve equity and access to buprenorphine treatment. We encourage policymakers to continue allowing buprenorphine delivery via telemedicine and researchers to study whether this approach improves equity and access to treatment throughout the United States.
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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.