Patients' perceptions of telehealth services for outpatient treatment of substance use disorders during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract

Background and Objectives: The rapid scale-up of telehealth services for substance use disorders (SUDs) during the COVID-19 pandemic presented a unique opportunity to investigate patient experiences with telehealth. This study examined patient perceptions of telehealth in an outpatient SUD treatment program offering individual therapy, group therapy, and medication management. Methods: Two hundred and seventy adults receiving SUD outpatient treatment were eligible to complete a 23-item online survey distributed by clinicians; 58 patients completed/partially completed the survey. Data were summarized with descriptive statistics.Results: Participants were predominately male, White, and well-educated. The majority (86.2%) were "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with the quality of telehealth care. "Very satisfied" ratings were highest for individual therapy (90%), followed by medication management (75%) and group therapy (58%). Top reasons for liking telehealth included the ability to do it from home (90%) and not needing to spend time commuting (83%). Top reasons for disliking telehealth were not connecting as well with other members in group therapy (28%) and the ability for telehealth to be interrupted at home or work (26%).Discussion and Conclusions: Telehealth visits were a satisfactory treatment modality for most respondents receiving outpatient SUD care, especially those engaging in individual therapy. Challenges remain for telehealth group therapy.Scientific Significance: This is the first study examining patients' perceptions of telehealth for outpatient SUD treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic by treatment service type. Importantly, while many participants found telehealth more accessible than in-person treatment, there was variability with respect to the preferred mode of treatment delivery.

Reducing Problematic Substance Use under Exceptional Circumstances—Effects of the COVID-19 Restrictions on Inpatient Substance Use Disorder Treatment in Finland

“…Furthermore, the restrictions seemed to cause dissatisfaction regarding remote group meetings. This observation is in line with Sugarman’s and colleagues’ [ 38 ] research, where they found that individuals experiencing SUD were not as satisfied with remote group therapy instead of remote individual therapy, because they were not able to connect as well with other participants as they were in face-to-face meetings. In our study we found that, according to the clients’ experiences, remote connections made interaction more premeditated, which eliminated the elements of spontaneity, naturalness, and interactivity.…”

Consensus recommendations for opioid agonist treatment following the introduction of emergency clinical guidelines in Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic: A national Delphi study

“…The benefits and concerns expressed were similar to those reported by clinicians in the US who transitioned to telehealth during COVID-19 ( Uscher-Pines et al, 2020 ). Similar to previous studies, participants also highlighted challenges in relation to lack of access to smartphones and phone charging facilities, limited broadband, language barriers and lack of privacy in the person's home or, for those who are homeless, no private location during remote consultation ( Lin et al, 2019 ; Sugarman et al, 2021 ; Tofighi et al, 2022 ; Uscher-Pines et al, 2020 ).…”

“…However, this was conditional on any remote health assessments being followed-up with a face-to-face consultation within two to four weeks. The various considerations expressed by participants in relation to the development of these statements, reflected current literature regarding the potential benefits and challenges associated with increased access to telehealth ( Hser et al, 2021 ; Krawczyk, Fawole, et al, 2021 ; Sugarman et al, 2021 ; Uscher-Pines et al, 2020 ). For example, participants acknowledged that offering patients a remote health assessment, allows for increased access to care and minimises travel requirements, particularly for those living in rural locations.…”

Telehealth Services for Substance Use Disorders During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Longitudinal Assessment of Intensive Outpatient Programming and Data Collection Practices

“…Early applications have shown promise as a means of preventing premature dropout from SUD treatment [ 8 ]. The pandemic rapidly accelerated the implementation of telehealth services for mental health and substance use treatment [ 9 ], and both providers and participants have viewed these types of services favorably [ 10 , 11 ]. Unfortunately, little is known about the actual efficacy or effectiveness of individual SUD treatment in telehealth treatment settings [ 12 - 14 ], and even less about traditional group treatment formats [ 15 ].…”