TY - JOUR
AU - A. F. Peterkin
AU - R. Jawa
AU - K. Menezes
AU - J. You
AU - H. Cabral
AU - G. Ruiz-Mercado
AU - T. W. Park
AU - J. Kehoe
AU - J. L. Taylor
AU - Z. M. Weinstein
A1 - 
AB - BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic drove significant disruptions in access to substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and harm reduction services. Healthcare delivery via telemedicine has increasingly become the norm, rendering access to a phone essential for engagement in care. METHODS: Adult patients with SUD who lacked phones (n = 181) received a free, pre-paid phone during encounters with inpatient and outpatient SUD programs. We evaluated changes in healthcare engagement including completed in-person and telemedicine outpatient visits and telephone encounters 30 days before and after phone receipt. We used descriptive statistics, where appropriate, and paired t-tests to assess the change in healthcare engagement measures. RESULTS: Patients were predominantly male (64%) and white (62%) with high rates of homelessness (81%) and opioid use disorder (89%). When comparing 30 days before to 30 days after phone receipt, there was a significant increased change in number of telemedicine visits by 0.3 (95% CL [0.1,0.4], p < 0.001) and telephone encounters by 0.2 (95% CL [0.1,0.3], p = 0.004). There was no statistically significant change in in-person outpatient visits observed. CONCLUSIONS: Pre-paid phone distribution to patients with SUD was associated with an increased healthcare engagement including telemedicine visits and encounters.
AD - Section of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.; Grayken Center for Addiction, Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.; Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.; Department of General Internal Medicine and Center for Research on Healthcare, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.; Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.; Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.; Department of Psychiatry, Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
AN - 36695079
BT - Subst Use Misuse
C5 - Opioids & Substance Use; HIT & Telehealth; Healthcare Disparities
CP - 4
DO - 10.1080/10826084.2023.2170184
DP - NLM
ET - 20230125
IS - 4
JF - Subst Use Misuse
LA - eng
N2 - BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic drove significant disruptions in access to substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and harm reduction services. Healthcare delivery via telemedicine has increasingly become the norm, rendering access to a phone essential for engagement in care. METHODS: Adult patients with SUD who lacked phones (n = 181) received a free, pre-paid phone during encounters with inpatient and outpatient SUD programs. We evaluated changes in healthcare engagement including completed in-person and telemedicine outpatient visits and telephone encounters 30 days before and after phone receipt. We used descriptive statistics, where appropriate, and paired t-tests to assess the change in healthcare engagement measures. RESULTS: Patients were predominantly male (64%) and white (62%) with high rates of homelessness (81%) and opioid use disorder (89%). When comparing 30 days before to 30 days after phone receipt, there was a significant increased change in number of telemedicine visits by 0.3 (95% CL [0.1,0.4], p < 0.001) and telephone encounters by 0.2 (95% CL [0.1,0.3], p = 0.004). There was no statistically significant change in in-person outpatient visits observed. CONCLUSIONS: Pre-paid phone distribution to patients with SUD was associated with an increased healthcare engagement including telemedicine visits and encounters.
PY - 2023
SN - 1082-6084 (Print); 1082-6084
SP - 585
EP - 589+
ST - Pre-Paid Phone Distribution: A Tool for Improving Healthcare Engagement for People with Substance Use Disorder
T1 - Pre-Paid Phone Distribution: A Tool for Improving Healthcare Engagement for People with Substance Use Disorder
T2 - Subst Use Misuse
TI - Pre-Paid Phone Distribution: A Tool for Improving Healthcare Engagement for People with Substance Use Disorder
U1 - Opioids & Substance Use; HIT & Telehealth; Healthcare Disparities
U3 - 10.1080/10826084.2023.2170184
VL - 58
VO - 1082-6084 (Print); 1082-6084
Y1 - 2023
ER -