The impact of the implementation of medication for opioid use disorder and COVID-19 in a statewide correctional system on treatment engagement, postrelease continuation of care, and overdose.

BACKGROUND: People with opioid use disorder (OUD) are overrepresented in US correctional facilities and experience disproportionately high risk for overdose after release. Medications for OUD (MOUD) are highly efficacious but not available to most incarcerated individuals. In 2018, Vermont began providing MOUD for all incarcerated individuals with OUD statewide. In 2020, the COVID-19 state of emergency began. We assessed the impact of both events on MOUD utilization and treatment outcomes. METHODOLOGY: Analyses linked Vermont Department of Corrections administrative data and Medicaid claims data between 07/01/2017 and 03/31/2021. The study used logistic regression to analyze treatment engagement among all incarcerated individuals in Vermont. Multilevel modeling assessed change in clinical outcomes among release episodes that occurred among individuals with an OUD diagnosis Medicaid claim. RESULTS: Prescriptions for MOUD while incarcerated increased from 0.8% to 33.9% of the incarcerated population after MOUD implementation (OR = 67.4) and subsequently decreased with the onset of COVID-19 to 26.6% (OR = 0.7). After MOUD implementation, most prescriptions (63.1%) were to individuals who had not been receiving MOUD prior to incarceration, but this figure decreased to 53.9% with the onset of COVID-19 (OR = 0.7). Prescriptions for MOUD within 30 days after release increased from 33.9% of those with OUD before to 41.0% after MOUD implementation (OR = 1.4) but decreased to 35.6% with the onset of COVID-19 (OR = 0.8). Simultaneously, opioid-related nonfatal overdoses within 30 days after release decreased from 1.2% before to 0.8% after statewide MOUD implementation (OR = 0.3) but increased to 1.9% during COVID-19 (OR = 3.4). Fatal overdoses within 1 year after release decreased from 27 deaths before to ≤10 after statewide MOUD implementation and remained ≤10 during COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: This longitudinal evaluation demonstrated increased treatment engagement and a decrease in opioid-related overdose following implementation of MOUD in a statewide correctional system. In contrast, these improvements were somewhat attenuated with the onset of COVID-19, which was associated with decreased treatment engagement and an increase in nonfatal overdoses. Considered together, these findings demonstrate the benefits of statewide MOUD for incarcerated individuals as well as the need to identify and address barriers to continuation of care following release from incarceration in the context of COVID-19.

Drug court utilization of medications for opioid use disorder in high opioid mortality communities.

INTRODUCTION: A 2012 national survey found low utilization of medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in US drug courts. This study provides an update on MOUD policies and practices among drug courts in communities that the opioid epidemic has substantially impacted. METHODS: The study surveyed adult drug courts (N = 169, 80 % response rate) in US counties with high opioid mortality rates or numbers of opioid-related deaths about their policies and practices relating to MOUD and the overdose-reversal medication, naloxone. RESULTS: Nearly three quarters of the programs (73 %) reported providing access to all FDA-approved MOUD medications, >90 % offer agonist medications (buprenorphine and/or methadone), 80 % provide naloxone training, and 62 % distribute naloxone overdose-reversal kits to their clients. Most programs rely principally on medical judgment for medication decisions (75 %), have received staff training on MOUD (65 %), and have arranged for clients to continue receiving agonist medications while serving jail sanctions for program violations (63 %). Nevertheless, only about one quarter to one half of clients with OUDs receive the medications in most programs, and respondents offered few explanations for this disconnect between policy and practice. In addition, 24 % of the programs continue to overrule medication decisions and 36 % of the jails in these communities do not offer agonist medication for drug court clients serving custodial sanctions. CONCLUSIONS: Programs have achieved substantial progress in the past decade in improving drug court policies concerning MOUD in communities enduring the worst brunt of the opioid epidemic; however, programs require further guidance to help them understand and rectify service barriers and put intended MOUD policies into effective operation. The authors provide recommendations to enhance MOUD utilization in drug courts and the broader criminal justice system.

Effect of Didactic Training on Barriers and Biases to Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder: Meeting the Ongoing Needs of Patients with Opioid Use Disorder in the Emergency Department during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

In the wake of COVID-19, morbidity and mortality due to Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) is beginning to emerge as a second wave of deaths of despair. Medication assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder MAT delivered by Emergency Medicine (EM) providers can decrease mortality due to OUD; however, there are numerous cited barriers to MAT delivery. We examined the impact of MAT training on these barriers among EM residents in an urban, tertiary care facility with a large EM residency. Training included the scripted and standardized content from the Provider Clinical Support System curriculum. Residents completed pre- and post-training surveys on knowledge, barriers, and biases surrounding OUD. We performed Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test to detect statistical differences. Of 74 residents, 49 (66%) completed the pre-training survey, and 34 (69%) of these completed the follow-up survey. Residents reported improved preparedness to treat aspects of OUD across all areas queried, reported decreased perception of barriers to providing MAT, and increased comfort prescribing naloxone, counseling patients, prescribing buprenorphine, and treating opioid withdrawal. A didactic training on MAT was associated with residents reporting improved comfort providing buprenorphine and naloxone. As the wake of morbidity and mortality from both COVID and OUD continue to increase, programs should offer dedicated training on MAT.

COVID-19 vaccination and drug users: Past, present, and future.

Vaccination against COVID-19 is crucial in the attempt of containing the virus' spread, but facing a viral pathogen with such a high prevalence means that vaccination strategies are facing an unprecedented situation. People that use illicit drugs may have elevated risk of adverse outcomes from COVID-19 given their high prevalence of underlying medical conditions, including respiratory and pulmonary disease, chronic liver disease, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular conditions, diabetes, and compromised immune systems. Despite a widespread distribution on the Italian territory, a large presence of health personnel and a long-standing experience in vaccinations, addiction clinics have yet to be involved in the vaccination campaign against COVID-19. The aim of this study was to investigate the beliefs of drug users attending some Italian addiction clinics, in order to envisage any vaccine administration strategies involving the services themselves. A questionnaire used for the Italian general population to investigate the relative importance of some factors in influencing the propensity to vaccinate against COVID-19, was administrated to drug users in a multicenter survey. The majority of respondents expressed general confidence in vaccines and a good willingness to undergo vaccination. Given strong peer networks, high coverage of treatment and harm reduction interventions, Italian public addiction clinics could play a strategic role in administering the vaccine in this hard-to-reach population, usefully aiding the global campaign against the virus.

Are we starting to 'think family'? Evidence from a case file audit of parents and children supported by mental health, addictions and children's services

The Health and Social Care Board in Northern Ireland commissioned an audit of social work case files from across service teams to establish whether Think Family Northern Ireland (Think Family NI) and FFP have become embedded across three different services (Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs), and addictions and children's services). The audit sought to: identify the extent to which these services co-worked to support families;highlight good practice;and identify areas for improvement. A random sample of files was selected from the three services in four of the five Health and Social Care Trusts, the main statutory provider of services in Northern Ireland. Data were collected from 108 case files. The COVID-19 lockdown ended fieldwork prematurely and electronic data from some files were unavailable (n = 12). Of the 103 families in the final sample, the mother was the primary focus in 85% of cases and, in total, parents had caring responsibilities for 258 children, the majority of whom were aged under 16 years. Joint planning was only evident in 18.5% of cases. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder With Buprenorphine Among US Adolescents and Young Adults During the Early COVID-19 Pandemic.

PURPOSE: The COVID-19 pandemic's impact on buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder among adolescents and young adults (AYAs) is unknown. METHODS: We used IQVIA Longitudinal Prescription Claims, including US AYAs aged 12-29 with at least 1 buprenorphine fill between January 2018 and August 2020, stratifying by age group and insurance. We compared buprenorphine prescriptions in March-August 2019 to March-August 2020. RESULTS: The monthly buprenorphine prescription rate increased 8.3% among AYAs aged 12-17 but decreased 7.5% among 18- to 24-year-olds and decreased 5.1% among 25- to 29-year-olds. In these age groups, Medicaid prescriptions did not significantly change, whereas commercial insurance prescriptions decreased 12.9% among 18- to 24-year-olds and 11.8% in 25- to 29-year-olds, and cash/other prescriptions decreased 18.7% among 18- to 24-year-olds and 19.9% in 25- to 29-year-olds (p < .001 for all). DISCUSSION: Buprenorphine prescriptions paid with commercial insurance or cash among young adults significantly decreased early in the pandemic, suggesting a possible unmet treatment need among this group.

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

BACKGROUND: The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the rapid transition of many types of substance use disorder (SUD) treatments to telehealth formats, despite limited information about what makes treatment effective in this novel format. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of virtual intensive outpatient programming (IOP) treatment for SUD in the context of a global pandemic, while considering the unique challenges posed to data collection during an unprecedented public health crisis. METHODS: The study is based on a longitudinal study with a baseline sample of 3642 patients who enrolled in intensive outpatient addiction treatment (in-person, hybrid, or virtual care) from January 2020 to March 2021 at a large substance use treatment center in the United States. The analytical sample consisted of patients who completed the 3-month postdischarge outcome survey as part of routine outcome monitoring (n=1060, 29.1% response rate). RESULTS: No significant differences were detected by delivery format in continuous abstinence (χ22=0.4, P=.81), overall quality of life (F2,826=2.06, P=.13), financial well-being (F2,767=2.30, P=.10), psychological well-being (F2,918=0.72, P=.49), and confidence in one's ability to stay sober (F2,941=0.21, P=.81). Individuals in hybrid programming were more likely to report a higher level of general health than those in virtual IOP (F2,917=4.19, P=.01). CONCLUSIONS: Virtual outpatient care for the treatment of SUD is a feasible alternative to in-person-only programming, leading to similar self-reported outcomes at 3 months postdischarge. Given the many obstacles presented throughout data collection during a pandemic, further research is needed to better understand under what conditions telehealth is an acceptable alternative to in-person care.

Changes in the availability of medications for opioid use disorder in prisons and jails in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, federal agencies relaxed buprenorphine prescribing restrictions including for incarcerated individuals. The impact of COVID-19 on the supply of MOUD in U.S. prisons and jails is not known. METHODS: We used cross-sectional national monthly data from the IQVIA National Sales Perspective (NSP) for the total volume of medicines supplied to city, county and state prisons and jails and other types of institutional facilities in the U.S. We measured the total monthly supply (or volume) as extended units (EUs) for MOUDs overall and by type. We used interrupted time series analysis to evaluate changes in monthly volume of MOUDs in prisons and jails and other types of facilities (hospitals, clinics and long-term care) before (January 2018-February 2020) and during the COVID-19 (March 2020-October 2020) pandemic. RESULTS: The availability of MOUD in jails and prisons increased by 471.3% between January 2018 (52,784 EU) and October 2020 (333,226 EU). This increase was largely driven by increased volume of buprenorphine/naloxone and was not observed in other institutional facilities, including hospitals, clinics and long-term care, and. Specifically, the mean monthly volume of buprenorphine/naloxone at prisons/jails increased every month before the pandemic by 1860 EU (95% CI, 1110-2360). In March 2020, the mean volume of buprenorphine/naloxone increased by 81,930 EU (95% CI, 59,040-104,820) per month, followed by a significant increase of 24,010 EU (95% CI 19,530-28,490) per month during the pandemic vs before the pandemic. CONCLUSION: These findings may indicate increased availability of buprenorphine/naloxone, a safe and effective MOUD, in prisons and jails since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. despite previous barriers in its use.

Characterizing and Identifying the Prevalence of Web-Based Misinformation Relating to Medication for Opioid Use Disorder: Machine Learning Approach.

BACKGROUND: Expanding access to and use of medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) is a key component of overdose prevention. An important barrier to the uptake of MOUD is exposure to inaccurate and potentially harmful health misinformation on social media or web-based forums where individuals commonly seek information. There is a significant need to devise computational techniques to describe the prevalence of web-based health misinformation related to MOUD to facilitate mitigation efforts. OBJECTIVE: By adopting a multidisciplinary, mixed methods strategy, this paper aims to present machine learning and natural language analysis approaches to identify the characteristics and prevalence of web-based misinformation related to MOUD to inform future prevention, treatment, and response efforts. METHODS: The team harnessed public social media posts and comments in the English language from Twitter (6,365,245 posts), YouTube (99,386 posts), Reddit (13,483,419 posts), and Drugs-Forum (5549 posts). Leveraging public health expert annotations on a sample of 2400 of these social media posts that were found to be semantically most similar to a variety of prevailing opioid use disorder-related myths based on representational learning, the team developed a supervised machine learning classifier. This classifier identified whether a post's language promoted one of the leading myths challenging addiction treatment: that the use of agonist therapy for MOUD is simply replacing one drug with another. Platform-level prevalence was calculated thereafter by machine labeling all unannotated posts with the classifier and noting the proportion of myth-indicative posts over all posts. RESULTS: Our results demonstrate promise in identifying social media postings that center on treatment myths about opioid use disorder with an accuracy of 91% and an area under the curve of 0.9, including how these discussions vary across platforms in terms of prevalence and linguistic characteristics, with the lowest prevalence on web-based health communities such as Reddit and Drugs-Forum and the highest on Twitter. Specifically, the prevalence of the stated MOUD myth ranged from 0.4% on web-based health communities to 0.9% on Twitter. CONCLUSIONS: This work provides one of the first large-scale assessments of a key MOUD-related myth across multiple social media platforms and highlights the feasibility and importance of ongoing assessment of health misinformation related to addiction treatment.

Breaking the cycle: A public-private partnership to combat the American opioid epidemic.

There has been an increased focus on the opioid epidemic in the United States, yet policy-based interventions such as prescription limits, restrictions on doctor shopping, and notification programs for high-volume prescribers have had no significant impact. In this paper, the authors explore a novel public health policy: a joint public-private partnership between the federal government and hospitals to establish long-term treatment centers for patients admitted to the emergency department after an overdose. These centers would provide medication for opioid use disorder, give individuals the necessary support for recovery, and reduce healthcare expenditures. Similar longitudinal strategies may be used in other areas of public health.

Buprenorphine Induction in a Rural Maryland Detention Center During COVID-19: Implementation and Preliminary Outcomes of a Novel Telemedicine Treatment Program for Incarcerated Individuals With Opioid Use Disorder.

Over 10 million individuals pass through U.S. detention centers on an annual basis, with nearly two-thirds meeting criteria for drug dependence/abuse. Despite proven efficacy, treatment with medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) is underutilized in jail settings-a gap that could be addressed using telemedicine. Here we describe a new program of telemedicine-based clinical provision of new/continuing buprenorphine treatment for individuals detained in a rural jail. Implementation objectives were completed between January and August 2020, and patient encounters were conducted between August 2020 and February 2021. We established (i) telemedicine hardware/software capability; (ii) a screening process; (iii) buprenorphine administration methods; (iv) necessary medical release procedures; (v) telemedicine encounter coordination and medication prescription procedures; and (vi) a research platform. Seven incarcerated patients have been treated, two of whom were referred from community treatment. Patients were mostly male (71%), non-Hispanic White (86%), and averaged 33 years old. All patients tested positive for an opioid upon intake and began/continued buprenorphine treatment in the jail. Average time to first MOUD appointment was 9 days and patients were maintained in treatment an average 21 days. Referrals for continuing community treatment were offered to all patients prior to discharge. We report successful implementation of telemedicine MOUD in a rural detention center, with treatment engagement and initiation occurring prior to the high-risk period of discharge. The fact that this program was launched during the height of the pandemic highlights the flexibility of telemedicine-based buprenorphine treatment. Challenges and obstacles to implementation of buprenorphine treatment in a correctional system are discussed.

"No home to take methadone to": Experiences with addiction services during the COVID-19 pandemic among survivors of opioid overdose in Boston.

INTRODUCTION: We conducted a qualitative study to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on experiences with addiction treatment and harm reduction services. METHODS: The study recruited participants from Boston, Massachusetts, aged 18-65 who had a history of opioid use disorder and overdose, from a parent study (REpeated dose Behavioral intervention to reduce Opioid Overdose, REBOOT) to participate between August and October 2020. In-depth individual interviews explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on addiction service experiences. We conducted a grounded content analysis that examined codes related to addiction service access and engagement during the pandemic to compare and categorize participants according to their experiences. RESULTS: The study enrolled twenty participants. The mean age was 42 years; most identified as white (n = 16); ten participants identified as men, nine as cis-gender women, and one as a trans-gender woman. Participants described their experiences with COVID-19-driven changes to addiction care (methadone take homes, televisits for either buprenorphine or behavioral health services, and syringe service outreach) access and engagement as: 1) liberating (n = 7), 2) destabilizing (n = 8), or 3) unjust (n = 5). Participants in the liberating group found adaptations allowed for increased flexibility, freedom, and safety from COVID-19. This group was mostly housed and had strong social supports that facilitated participation in adapted treatment programs. COVID-19-related changes to addiction treatment disrupted routine and community supports among those in the destabilizing group. Participants in the unjust group felt that adaptations exacerbated inequities as a lack of housing and other social supports prohibited them from benefiting from the relaxed restrictions to methadone or buprenorphine. This group was mostly unhoused and found that adaptations did not adequately mitigate other inequities worsened by public health mandates for unhoused people who use drugs. CONCLUSION: Relaxed restrictions on medications for opioid use disorder created opportunities for improved patient-centered care. Concrete measures that address service barriers, such as phone or transportation access, may have reduced destabilizing and unjust experiences reported by our participants. However, addiction care inequities will persist if drivers of marginalization, specifically a lack of housing, remain unaddressed.

Substance Use Disorder: A Model for Integration in Undergraduate Medical Education.

Substance Use Disorder (SUD) is a debilitating chronic illness with significant morbidity and mortality across the United States. The AAMC and LCME have supported the efforts for more effective medical education of SUD to address the existing stigma, knowledge, and treatment gaps. The Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and associated social, economic, and behavioral impacts have added to this urgency. The University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville (USCSOMG), in collaboration with community organizations, has successfully implemented an integrated SUD education curriculum for medical students. Students learn about SUD in basic sciences, receive case-based education during clinical exercises, and are provided the opportunity to become a recovery coach and participate in the patient and family recovery meetings through this curriculum during preclinical years. During the clinical years, SUD education is enhanced with exposure to Medication for Addition Treatment (MAT). Students also partake in the care coordination of patients with SUD between the hospital and community recovery organizations. All students receive MAT waiver training in their final year and are prepared to prescribe treatment for SUD upon graduation. The experiences in this integrated curriculum integration can perhaps assist other organizations to implement similar components and empower the next generation of physicians to be competent and effective in treating patients with SUD.

Perspectives of opioid use disorder treatment providers during COVID-19: Adapting to flexibilities and sustaining reforms.

OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 pandemic led to unprecedented temporary federal and state regulatory flexibilities that rapidly transformed medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) treatment delivery. This study aimed to understand changes in treatment providers' care during COVID-19, provider experiences with the adaptations, and perceptions of which changes should be sustained long-term. METHODS: We conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 20 New Jersey MOUD providers, purposively sampled to reflect diversity in provider setting, specialty, and other characteristics. Using a rapid analysis approach, we summarized content within interview domains and analyzed domains across participants for recurring concepts and themes. RESULTS: MOUD treatment practice changes taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic included a rapid shift from in-person care to telehealth, reduction in frequency of toxicology testing and psychosocial/counseling services, and modifications to prescription durations and take-home methadone supplies. Modifications to practice were positively received and reinforced a sense of autonomy for providers as well as enhancing the ability to provide patient-centered care. All respondents expressed support for making temporary regulatory flexibilities permanent, but differed in their implementation of the flexibilities and the extent to which they planned to modify their own practices long-term. CONCLUSION: Findings support sustaining temporary regulatory and payment changes to MOUD practice, which may have improved treatment access and allowed for more flexible, individually tailored patient care. Few negative, unintended consequences were reported by providers, but more research is needed to evaluate the patient experience with changes to practice during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Telemedicine works for treating substance use disorder: The STAR clinic experience during COVID-19.

The coronavirus disease 2019 has exposed many opportunities for improvement in treatment for substance use disorders. Regulators can ensure higher quality treatment for addiction when acknowledging telemedicine as a necessary treatment option and amending regulations to allow for telehealth parity across the United States.

Engaging the justice system to address the opioid crisis: The Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN).

Many individuals with opioid use disorder come into contact with the justice system each year, making the nexus between the criminal justice system and the health care system a critical juncture for responding to the opioid crisis and simultaneously promoting public health and public safety. Collaborations across these sectors are essential to providing effective screening, treatment, and discharge planning; connecting individuals to services following release; promoting long-term recovery while reducing recidivism; and ultimately bringing the opioid crisis under control. In 2019, with the support of the NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative, the National Institute on Drug Abuse launched the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN). JCOIN is a >$150M multisite cooperative designed to facilitate transdisciplinary collaborations that can create actionable, translatable insights for the justice system and community-based organizations to address the opioid epidemic in justice-involved populations. JCOIN brings together 11 Research Hubs, a coordination and translation center (CTC), and a methodology and advanced analytics resource center (MAARC), with the goal of generating evidence that is greater than the sum of the parts. Collectively, the network will field at least 12 large-scale multisite clinical trials, which are described in this special issue. This article provides a brief overview of the scientific underpinnings for these trials; describes the broad themes connecting them; and discusses the intersections of the JCOIN initiative with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Treatment experience for opioid use disorder during COVID-19 in India: Learning from patients.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its containment strategies have presented unique challenges to India's healthcare infrastructure. While a national lockdown initially resulted in the closure of all licensed liquor shops, it also made healthcare facilities dedicated to the treatment of substance use disorders challenging to access. Addiction treatment services have been functioning at limited capacity with a lack of consensus on operating procedures. In this article, we present actual case scenarios where lockdown affected substance use and the treatment process, and discuss the policy implications and considerations for both.