Literature Collection

IMPORTANCE: Federal emergency authorities were invoked during the COVID-19 pandemic to expand clinical telehealth for opioid use disorder (OUD). OBJECTIVE: To examine the association of the receipt of telehealth services and medications for OUD (MOUD) with fatal drug overdoses before and during the pandemic. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cohort study used exploratory longitudinal data from 2 cohorts (prepandemic cohort: September 1, 2018, to February 29, 2020; pandemic cohort: September 1, 2019, to February 28, 2021) of Medicare Fee-for-Service beneficiaries aged 18 years or older initiating an episode of OUD-related care using Medicare Fee-for-Service data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and National Death Index data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Data analysis was performed from September 19 to October 17, 2022. EXPOSURES: Prepandemic vs pandemic cohort demographic, medical, substance use, and psychiatric characteristics. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Receipt of OUD-related telehealth services, receipt of MOUD, and fatal drug overdose. RESULTS: The prepandemic cohort comprised 105 162 beneficiaries (58.1% female; 67.6% aged 45-74 years). The pandemic cohort comprised 70 479 beneficiaries (57.1% female; 66.3% aged 45-74 years). The rate of all-cause mortality was higher in the pandemic cohort (99.9 per 1000 beneficiaries; 7041 deaths) than in the prepandemic cohort (76.8 per 1000; 8076 deaths) (P < .001). The rate of fatal drug overdoses was higher in the pandemic cohort (5.1 per 1000 beneficiaries; n = 358) than in the prepandemic cohort (3.7 per 1000; n = 391) (P < .001). The percentage of deaths due to a fatal drug overdose was similar in the prepandemic (4.8%) and pandemic (5.1%) cohorts (P = .49). In multivariable analysis of the pandemic cohort, receipt of OUD-related telehealth was associated with a significantly lower adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for fatal drug overdose (aOR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.48-0.92) as was receipt of MOUD from opioid treatment programs (aOR, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.25-0.68) and receipt of buprenorphine in office-based settings (aOR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.43-0.91) compared with those not receiving MOUD; receipt of extended-release naltrexone in office-based settings was not associated with lower odds for fatal drug overdose (aOR, 1.16; 95% CI, 0.41-3.26). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This cohort study found that, among Medicare beneficiaries initiating OUD-related care during the COVID-19 pandemic, receipt of OUD-related telehealth services was associated with reduced risk for fatal drug overdose, as was receipt of MOUD from opioid treatment programs and receipt of buprenorphine in office-based settings. Strategies to expand provision of MOUD, increase retention in care, and address co-occurring physical and behavioral health conditions are needed.

IMPORTANCE: Women veterans increasingly seek care yet continue to face barriers in the Veterans Health Administration (VA), which predominantly cares for men. Evidence-based collaborative care models can improve patient access to treatment of depression, which is experienced at higher rates by women. While the VA has implemented these care models nationally, it is not known whether access improvements occur equitably across genders in primary care. OBJECTIVE: To examine whether the VA's national Primary Care-Mental Health Integration (PC-MHI) initiative (beginning 2007) expanded realized access to mental health care similarly for men and women. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cohort study included 5 377 093 million primary care patients assigned to 396 VA clinics that provided integrated mental health services nationally between October 2013 and September 2016. Data analysis occurred between May 2017 and July 2020. EXPOSURES: Clinic PC-MHI penetration, calculated as the proportion of clinic patients who saw an integrated specialist per fiscal year. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Estimates of mean VA health care utilization (mental health, primary care, other specialty care, telephone, hospitalizations) and median total costs for men and women. Multilevel models adjusted for year, clinic, patient characteristics, and interactions between patient-defined gender and clinic PC-MHI penetration. RESULTS: This study examined 5 377 093 veterans (448 455 [8.3%] women; 3 744 140 [69.6%] White) with a mean (SD) baseline age 62.0 (16.6) years. Each percentage-point increase in the proportion of clinic patients who saw an integrated specialist was associated with 38% fewer mental health visits per year for women (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.60-0.65), but 39% more visits for men (IRR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.34-1.44; P < .001). Both men and women had more primary care visits (men: IRR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.36-1.45; women: IRR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.17-1.28; P < .001) and total costs (men: β [SE], 2.23 [0.10]; women: β [SE], 1.24 [0.15]; P = .06), but women had 74% fewer hospitalizations than men related to clinics with mental health integration (IRR, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.19-0.36 vs IRR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.83-1.24; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: While greater outpatient service use for men was observed in this study, PC-MHI was associated with a decrease in mental health specialty visits (and hospitalizations) for women veterans, potentially signifying a shift of services to primary care. With increasing patient choice for where veterans receive care, the VA must tailor medical care to the needs of rising numbers of women patients. Differences in health care utilization by gender highlight the importance of anticipating policy impacts on and tailoring services for patients in the numerical minority in the VA and other health systems.

Despite high mortality rates due to opioid overdose and excessive alcohol consumption, medications for the treatment of alcohol and opioid use disorder have not been widely used in the USA. This paper provides an overview of the literature on the availability of alcohol and opioid used disorder medications in the specialty substance use disorder treatment system, other treatment settings and systems, and among providers with a federal waiver to prescribe buprenorphine. We also present the most current data on the availability of alcohol and opioid use disorder medications in the USA. These estimates show steady growth in availability of opioid use disorder medications over the past decade and a decline in availability of alcohol use disorder medications. However, overall use of medications in the USA remains low. In 2017, only 16.3% of specialty treatment programs offered any single medication for alcohol use disorder treatment and 35.5% offered any single medication for opioid use disorder treatment. Availability of buprenorphine-waivered providers has increased significantly since 2002. However, geographic disparities in access to buprenorphine remain. Some of the most promising strategies to increase availability of alcohol and opioid use disorder medications include the following: incorporating substance use disorder training in healthcare education programs, educating the substance use disorder workforce about the benefits of medication treatment, reducing stigma surrounding the use of medications, implementing medications in primary care settings, implementing integrated care models, revising regulations on methadone and buprenorphine, improving health insurance coverage of medications, and developing novel medications for the treatment of substance use disorder.

OBJECTIVES: This study explores knowledge and utilization of, barriers to, and preferences for harm reduction services among street-involved young adults (YA) in Boston, Massachusetts. METHODS: This cross-sectional survey of YA encountered between November and December 2019 by a longstanding outreach program for street-involved YA. We report descriptive statistics on participant-reported substance use, knowledge and utilization of harm reduction strategies, barriers to harm reduction services and treatment, and preferences for harm reduction service delivery. RESULTS: The 52 YA surveyed were on average 21.4 years old; 63.5% were male, and 44.2% were Black. Participants reported high past-week marijuana (80.8%) and alcohol (51.9%) use, and 15.4% endorsed opioid use and using needles to inject drugs in the past six months. Fifteen (28.8%) YA had heard of "harm reduction", and 17.3% reported participating in harm reduction services. The most common barriers to substance use disorder treatment were waitlists and cost. Participants suggested that harm reduction programs offer peer support (59.6%) and provide a variety of services including pre-exposure prophylaxis (42.3%) and sexually transmitted infection testing (61.5%) at flexible times and in different languages, including Spanish (61.5%) and Portuguese (17.3%). CONCLUSIONS: There is need for comprehensive, YA-oriented harm reduction outreach geared toward marginalized YA and developed with YA input to reduce barriers, address gaps in awareness and knowledge of harm reduction, and make programs more relevant and inviting to YA.

Integrated care refers to person-centered and coordinated, health and social care, and community services. Integrated care systems are partnerships of organizations that deliver health and care services which were placed on a statutory footing in England, April 2022. Due to the need for fast, accessible, and relevant evidence, a rapid review was conducted according to World Health Organization methods to determine barriers and enablers of integrated care across the United Kingdom, 2018-2022. Nine databases were searched for review articles reporting evaluation of integrated care interventions involving medical (clinical and diagnostic) and nonmedical (public health services and community-based or social care/person-centred care) approaches, quality checked with the Critical Appraisal Skills Program qualitative checklist. OpenGrey and hand searches were used to identify grey literature, quality checked with the Authority, Accuracy, Coverage, Objectivity, Date, and Significance checklist. Thirty-four reviews and 21 grey literature reports fitted inclusion criteria of adult physical/mental health outcomes/multiple morbidities. Thematic analysis revealed six themes (collaborative approach; costs; evidence and evaluation; integration of care; professional roles; service user factors) with 20 subthemes including key barriers (cost effectiveness; effectiveness of integrated care; evaluation methods; focus of evidence; future research; impact of integration) and enablers (accessing care; collaboration and partnership; concept of integration; inter-professional relationships; person-centered ethos). Findings indicated a paucity of robust research to evaluate such interventions and lack of standardized methodology to assess cost effectiveness, although there is growing interest in co-production that has engendered information sharing and reduced duplication, and inter-professional collaborations that have bridged task-related gaps and overlaps. The importance of identifying elements of integrated care associated with successful outcomes and determining sustainability of interventions meeting joined-up care and preventive population health objectives was highlighted.

Medication treatment for opioid use disorder (M-OUD) is underutilized, despite research demonstrating its effectiveness in treating opioid use disorder (OUD). The UNC Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes for Rural Primary Care Medication Assisted Treatment (UNC ECHO for MAT) project was designed to evaluate interventions for reducing barriers to delivery of M-OUD by rural primary care providers in North Carolina. A key element was tele-conferenced sessions based on the University of New Mexico Project ECHO model, comprised of case discussions and didactic presentations using a "hub and spoke" model, with expert team members at the hub site and community-based providers participating from their offices (i.e., spoke sites). Although federal funders have promoted use of the model, barriers for providers to participate in ECHO sessions are not well documented. Methods: UNC ECHO for MAT included ECHO sessions, provider-to-provider consultations, and practice coaching. We conducted 20 semi-structured interviews to assess perceived usefulness of the UNC ECHO for MAT intervention, barriers to participation in the intervention, and persistent barriers to prescribing M-OUD. Results: Participants were generally satisfied with ECHO sessions and provider-to-provider consultations; however, perceived value of practice support was less clear. Primary barriers to participating in ECHO sessions were timing and length of sessions. Participants recommended recording ECHO sessions for viewing later, and some thought incentives for either the practice or provider could facilitate participation. Providers who had participated in ECHO sessions valued the expertise on the expert team; the team's ability to develop a supportive, collegial environment; and the value of a community of providers interested in learning from each other, particularly through case discussions. Conclusions: Despite the perceived value of ECHO, barriers may prevent consistent participation. Also, barriers to M-OUD delivery remain, including some that ECHO alone cannot address, such as Medicaid and private-insurer policies and availability of psychosocial resources.

The integrated behavioral health care model in primary care has the potential to reduce barriers to care experienced by children and families from ethnic minorities and low socioeconomic status. Limited access to pediatric behavioral health care is a significant problem, with up to 40% of children and adolescents with identified mental disorders and only 30% of them receiving care. Barriers include transportation, insurance, and shortage of specialists. Primary care provider bias, decreased knowledge and feelings of competence, and cultural beliefs and stigma also affect earlier diagnosis and treatment, particularly for Hispanic families with low English proficiency and African Americans.