Patient experiences with telehealth treatment for opioid use disorder in Alabama

Introduction

Telehealth-only provision of buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) was first made possible during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Alabama instituted a law in July 2022 that mandated an annual in-person visit in order to receive this treatment. In July 2023, our usually telehealth-only group established a temporary clinic in Birmingham to meet this requirement.

Methods

The study administered a survey instrument to patients at the time of clinic check-in.

Results

158 of 160 (98.8 %) patients completed the survey. Mean distance traveled was 86.4 (standard deviation (SD) 53.7) miles; time required for travel was mean 1.6 (SD 1.0) hours. Twenty-five patients (15.8 %) reported needing to find childcare to attend the visit and 40 patients (25.3 %) reported missing work to attend. Patients disagreed (median 2 on 1–5 Likert scale, interquartile range (IQR) <1–3>) that it is important to see their provider in-person, that seeing their provider in-person improves care or improves their ability to succeed in treatment, and that they have other OUD treatment resources in their community. Patients strongly agreed (median 5, IQR <5–5>) that OUD can be treated by telehealth without the need for an in-person visit.

Conclusions

An annual in-person visits requirement to receive telehealth OUD services imposed a significant burden on patients, was not desired by patients, and may be associated with harm.