Telehealth treatment may be an effective way for pregnant individuals to continue medication-assisted-treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder (OUD).
A new analysis by Workit Health, a virtual addiction treatment provider, that was published in JAMA, examined the electronic health record (EHR) data of pregnant patients who identified as having an OUD and were receiving MAT.
Nearly 80% of the patients in the study received continuous medication for opioid throughout pregnancy. Of that, 8% of patients transferred to a prenatal provider and 92% continued to receive MAT through telehealth.
Researchers found that 94.2% of the patients who stayed in telehealth treatment remained in care through six weeks post-pregnancy.
Roughly 43% of participants were pregnant during their initial telehealth appointment and 57.4% became pregnant after establishing care. Researchers found that individuals who started care before they became pregnant were more likely to remain in treatment than people already pregnant at the start of care.
“The United States suffers from a maternal health crisis, which is fueled, in part, by the devastating impacts of substance use,” Marlene Lira, senior author and Workit’s health director of research, said in a statement. “The compelling outcomes of our telemedicine model speak to the promise of low-barrier, patient-led, and technology-integrated care for this high-risk population.”
Telehealth isn’t the only way providers are looking to help pregnant people cope with SUD. Elevance Health (NYSE: ELV) rolled out a new peer specialist program called Empower. The program is aimed at women between 18 and 40 who have a substance use disorder (SUD) or are at risk for developing SUD.
