New Research Shows Promise of Telehealth in Treating Opioid Use Disorder

The potential of telehealth to help people with opioid use disorder continue their treatment is the subject of a new AHRQ Views blog post by agency Director Gopal Khanna, M.B.A., and Christine Chang, M.D., M.P.H., medical officer in AHRQ’s Evidence-based Practice Center Program. AHRQ has dramatically expanded its research about telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. A new Rapid Evidence Review found that telehealth is at least as effective as in-person visits when it comes to retaining patients in medications for addiction treatment programs. While telehealth is not a magic bullet for all situations, these findings comport with those from an earlier AHRQ report that found telehealth can provide additional specialized staff through remote intensive care units, speed emergency care decisions, and expand access to specialty care.