Main study objective: compare long-term buprenorphine treatment outcomes for patients who start buprenorphine for opioid use disorder (OUD) in the emergency department and are then referred to get outpatient buprenorphine treatment either via telehealth or at an in-person clinic.
Researchers will:
Compare rates of establishing outpatient OUD treatment, how long patients stay on buprenorphine, and patients' experience with care to determine whether patient experiences and outcomes are better for patients referred to telehealth treatment versus patients patients referred to in-person treatment after they leave the emergency department.
Participants will:
Be recruited from 3 different hospital emergency departments.
Answer questionnaires at baseline and then 1, 3, 6, and 9 months after their initial emergency department visit.
Adult patients who present to the emergency department and receive buprenorphine (either administered or prescribed) to treat OUD
do not have an established outpatient clinic where they will get buprenorphine when they leave the emergency department
inability to give consent
patients living in institutions (e.g., nursing homes, prisons)
unable to complete questionnaires in either English or Spanish
Parallel
referral to telehealth treatment
Other interventionthe intervention tested will be referral to get outpatient treatment via telehealth. Participants in the telehealth arm will receive the intervention.
referral to in person treatment
Other interventionparticipants in the in person arm will be referred to in person OUD treatment after they leave the ED
buprenorphine retention
cumulative days with an active buprenorphine prescription
buprenorphine retention
cumulative days with an active buprenorphine prescription
buprenorphine retention (binary)
active buprenorphine prescription with no gap in coverage \>7 days
drug overdose death
death related to overdose
past 30-day opioid use
patient-reported number of days patient used opioids (illicit opioids or prescription opioids for non-medical reasons) during past 30 days
health care utilization
emergency department visits and/or hospital admissions
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University of California, Davis
Lead sponsor
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
Collaborator
