{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]],"date-time":"2026-10-13T03:02:25Z","timestamp":1791860545222,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,1]],"date-time":"2025-03-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1740787200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Telemedicine and e-Health"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,3]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) represent a high-risk population due to increased rates of adverse health outcomes and death. To evaluate whether telehealth utilization during OUD treatment compared with in-person encounters alone was associated with emergency department (ED) utilization, inpatient admissions, and mortality within three years of initiating buprenorphine.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We conducted a retrospective cohort study within the Veterans Health Administration among Veterans treated for OUD between 2012 and \u20132022. The primary exposure was modality of care, characterized as telehealth encounters (with or without an in-person visit) compared with in-person visits only. Outcomes included an ED visit, inpatient admission, or mortality within three years of the index buprenorphine prescription. We measured the association between each type of treatment modality and outcomes through Cox proportional hazards regression modeling, adjusting for demographic and clinical covariates and confounders.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Findings:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Of the 57,021 Veterans diagnosed with OUD and who initiated buprenorphine, 38,072 Veterans met study eligibility criteria. The majority of Veterans were male, non-Hispanic White, 25\u201344 years of age, and lived in urban areas. Approximately 60% of this entire cohort experienced at least one ED visit, 40% experienced an inpatient admission, and 8% died during follow-up. Telehealth use compared with in-person visits only was associated with reduced ED visits (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.81; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.77\u20130.85), inpatient admissions (aHR: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.67\u20130.76), and mortality (aHR: 0.80; 95% CI: 0.67\u20130.94).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Telehealth may help overcome barriers to in-person care. During buprenorphine treatment for OUD, telehealth as a point of contact with providers and the health care system may reduce more adverse health outcomes, potentially through improving treatment retention. Qualitative studies may help shed light on the mechanisms through which telehealth directly impacts clinical outcomes.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1089\/tmj.2024.0410","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,25]],"date-time":"2024-11-25T04:34:18Z","timestamp":1732509258000},"page":"257-268","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["The Association Between Telehealth Use During Buprenorphine Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder and Clinical Outcomes: A Retrospective Cohort Study"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"31","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6419-3433","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"J. Priyanka","family":"Vakkalanka","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, USA."},{"name":"Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa City, Iowa, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Brian C.","family":"Lund","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa City, Iowa, USA."},{"name":"Center for Comprehensive Access and Delivery Research and Evaluation, Iowa City Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Iowa City, Iowa, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Stephan","family":"Arndt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biostatistics, University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa City, Iowa, USA."},{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa Health Care, Iowa City, Iowa, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6710-4029","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Knute D.","family":"Carter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biostatistics, University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa City, Iowa, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ryan","family":"Carnahan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa City, Iowa, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_6_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/10826084.2022.2046098"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41572-019-0137-5"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_4_2","unstructured":"Strain E. Opioid use disorder: Epidemiology clinical features health consequences screening and assessment 2023. Available from: https:\/\/www.uptodate.com\/contents\/opioid-use-disorder-epidemiology-clinical-features-health-consequences-screening-and-assessment [Last accessed: January 21 2024]."},{"key":"e_1_3_6_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.drugalcdep.2022.109551"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_6_2","unstructured":"Harvard Health Blog. Comparing medications to treat opioid use disorder 2018. Available from: https:\/\/www.health.harvard.edu\/blog\/comparing-treat-opioid-use-disorder-2018010313021#:\u223c:text=Overall%20buprenorphine%20is%20a%20more required%20before%20starting%20on%20it [Last accessed: January 21 2024]."},{"key":"e_1_3_6_7_2","unstructured":"Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Co-Occurring Disorders and Other Health Conditions 2023. 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Available from: https:\/\/catalyst.nejm.org\/doi\/full\/10.1056\/CAT.20.0327 [Last accessed: January 21 2024]."},{"key":"e_1_3_6_11_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jamanetworkopen.2021.42531"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_12_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jamanetworkopen.2022.52381"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_13_2","unstructured":"Fern\u00e1ndez-Vi\u00f1a MH Doyle S. The Temporary Federal Rule on Telehealth Treatment Explained 2023. Available from: https:\/\/www.pewtrusts.org\/en\/research-and-analysis\/articles\/2023\/09\/14\/the-temporary-federal-rule-on-telehealth-treatment-explained [Last accessed: March 12 2024]."},{"key":"e_1_3_6_14_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11606-021-06969-1"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_15_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.amepre.2021.02.026"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_16_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1089\/tmj.2023.0588"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_17_2","unstructured":"US Department of Veterans Affairs. 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