TY - JOUR
AU - A. Ventuneac
AU - S. S. Dickerson
AU - A. Dharia
AU - S. J. George
AU - A. H. Talal
A1 - 
AB - Background: Opioid treatment programs are an essential component of the management of opioid use disorder (OUD). They have also been proposed as "medical homes" to expand health care access for underserved populations. We utilized telemedicine as a method to increase access for hepatitis C virus (HCV) care among people with OUD. Methods: We interviewed 30 staff and 15 administrators regarding the integration of facilitated telemedicine for HCV into opioid treatment programs. Participants provided feedback and insight for sustaining and scaling facilitated telemedicine for people with OUD. We utilized hermeneutic phenomenology to develop themes related to telemedicine sustainability in opioid treatment programs. Results: Three themes emerged on sustaining the facilitated telemedicine model: (1) Telemedicine as a Technical Innovation in Opioid Treatment Programs, (2) Technology Transcending Space and Time, and (3) COVID-19 Disrupting the Status Quo. Participants identified skilled staff, ongoing training, technology infrastructure and support, and an effective marketing campaign as key to maintaining the facilitated telemedicine model. Participants highlighted the study-supported case manager's role in managing the technology to transcend temporal and geographical challenges for HCV treatment access for people with OUD. COVID-19 fueled changes in health care delivery, including facilitated telemedicine, to expand the opioid treatment program's mission as a medical home for people with OUD. Conclusions: Opioid treatment programs can sustain facilitated telemedicine to increase health care access for underserved populations. COVID-19-induced disruptions promoted innovation and policy changes recognizing telemedicine's role in expanding health care access to underserved populations. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02933970.
AD - START Treatment & Recovery Centers, Brooklyn, New York, USA.; Division of Biobehavioral Health & Clinical Sciences, School of Nursing, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA.; Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA.; Division of Liver Diseases, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
AN - 37252770
BT - Telemed J E Health
C5 - Opioids & Substance Use; HIT & Telehealth
CP - 12
DA - Dec
DO - 10.1089/tmj.2022.0534
DP - NLM
ET - 20230526
IS - 12
JF - Telemed J E Health
LA - eng
N2 - Background: Opioid treatment programs are an essential component of the management of opioid use disorder (OUD). They have also been proposed as "medical homes" to expand health care access for underserved populations. We utilized telemedicine as a method to increase access for hepatitis C virus (HCV) care among people with OUD. Methods: We interviewed 30 staff and 15 administrators regarding the integration of facilitated telemedicine for HCV into opioid treatment programs. Participants provided feedback and insight for sustaining and scaling facilitated telemedicine for people with OUD. We utilized hermeneutic phenomenology to develop themes related to telemedicine sustainability in opioid treatment programs. Results: Three themes emerged on sustaining the facilitated telemedicine model: (1) Telemedicine as a Technical Innovation in Opioid Treatment Programs, (2) Technology Transcending Space and Time, and (3) COVID-19 Disrupting the Status Quo. Participants identified skilled staff, ongoing training, technology infrastructure and support, and an effective marketing campaign as key to maintaining the facilitated telemedicine model. Participants highlighted the study-supported case manager's role in managing the technology to transcend temporal and geographical challenges for HCV treatment access for people with OUD. COVID-19 fueled changes in health care delivery, including facilitated telemedicine, to expand the opioid treatment program's mission as a medical home for people with OUD. Conclusions: Opioid treatment programs can sustain facilitated telemedicine to increase health care access for underserved populations. COVID-19-induced disruptions promoted innovation and policy changes recognizing telemedicine's role in expanding health care access to underserved populations. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02933970.
PY - 2023
SN - 1530-5627
SP - 1862
EP - 1869+
ST - Scaling and Sustaining Facilitated Telemedicine to Expand Treatment Access Among Underserved Populations: A Qualitative Study
T1 - Scaling and Sustaining Facilitated Telemedicine to Expand Treatment Access Among Underserved Populations: A Qualitative Study
T2 - Telemed J E Health
TI - Scaling and Sustaining Facilitated Telemedicine to Expand Treatment Access Among Underserved Populations: A Qualitative Study
U1 - Opioids & Substance Use; HIT & Telehealth
U3 - 10.1089/tmj.2022.0534
VL - 29
VO - 1530-5627
Y1 - 2023
ER -