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Tag: opioid use disorder
05/22/2023

Addiction Recovery Provider Uses AI to Monitor Telehealth Meds for Opioid Use Disorder

Article Excerpt: In senior living communities and nursing homes, it’s often a challenge to keep residents with opioid-use disorder in treatment and monitor their medications when they can’t visit the doctor. An addiction medicine practice in Indiana found a fix by creating a platform combining smartphone and AI technology to connect patients with doctors and help providers comply with treatment regulations.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/9xuzfu5y

Article Source: McKnights Senior Living

01/17/2023

Clinical Trial to Test Wearable Device as Treatment for Chronic Pain, Opioid Withdrawal

Article Excerpt: A multi-year clinical trial at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) and Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) will examine the use of a wearable device thought to stimulate nerves near the ear to change signals in the brain as a treatment for chronic pain and opioid tapering. The trial, known as tANdem, is being funded by an $8.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and is designed to provide an understanding of the mechanistic, neurophysiological and antinociceptive effects of transcutaneous auricular neurostimulation (tAN), which has been shown to reduce pain and the symptoms of withdrawal.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/4d266t22

Article Source: Investors Observer

11/21/2022

Use of telemedicine for opioid use disorder treatment – Perceptions and experiences of opioid use disorder clinicians

Riedel L, Uscher-Pines L, Mehrotra A, Busch AB, Barnett ML, Raja P, & Huskamp HA. (2021). Use of telemedicine for opioid use disorder treatment – Perceptions and experiences of opioid use disorder clinicians. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 228, 108999–108999. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.108999

Researchers conducted a national online survey to assess clinician use of and perspectives about telemedicine for opioid use disorder (OUD) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Clinicians, including psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, primary care providers, and physician assistants, were recruited from WebMD/Medscape’s online panel (N=602). The survey focused on the use of telemedicine to treat OUD in the last month. Questions included clinician training, patient population served, OUD visit delivery, barriers to telemedicine, and opinions on effectiveness of telemedicine. Findings showed that on average 57% of visits were via telemedicine. The majority of clinicians (63%) reported telemedicine was as effective as in-person care. Ninety percent said they were comfortable using video for clinically stable patients and 49% said the same for clinically unstable patients. Seventy percent of clinicians preferred to return to in-person care following the pandemic, but 95% wanted to continue to offer telemedicine in some form. Significantly higher comfort levels were found among clinicians with at least 30% of their patient caseload composed of those with OUD compared to clinicians with fewer patients with OUD. Further, clinicians with at least 60% Medicaid and uninsured patients were significantly more likely to have conducted visits via audio-only methods and also preferred to continue using telemedicine after the pandemic compared to those with fewer Medicaid patients. These findings could inform how telemedicine is used for OUD treatment moving forward; however, there remains uncertainty about the use of audio-only visits and reimbursement levels.

11/07/2022

Technology-Assisted Opioid Education for Out-of-Treatment Adults With Opioid Use Disorder

Toegel F, Novak MD, Rodewald AM, Leoutsakos JM, Silverman K & Holtyn AF. (2022). Technology-assisted opioid education for out-of-treatment adults with opioid use disorder. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 36(5), 555–564. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000769

This pre-post study evaluated the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a technology-assisted education program for adults at higher risk of opioid overdose. The education program was self-paced and included three courses: 1) introduction to opioids, 2) preventing, detecting, and responding to an opioid overdose, and 3) opioid use disorder medications. Each course presented information and then prompted the user to complete a multiple-choice quiz to assess mastery of course material; incorrect answers produced feedback and participants were required to answer the question again to be able to advance to the next course. Forty adult participants with opioid use disorder who were not currently in treatment and who were living in Baltimore, Maryland were referred from community agencies and enrolled in the study. The education program took on average 91 minutes to complete and most participants completed the program in a single day. The mean score for the baseline test was 85% accuracy, indicating that participants already had prior knowledge of opioids, opioid overdoses, and medications. After completion of the program, participants showed significant improvement in test scores across all three courses (increase of 9.1%, 5.8%, and 10.1% respectively; p<.001); this was independent of education, employment, and poverty status. Participants with less than 12 years of education had significantly lower scores than those with 12 or more years of education. The computerized opioid education program demonstrated preliminary feasibility and efficacy in an uncontrolled trial among at-risk adults. Mobile technology allows for the potential to disseminate widely.