Date
Spring 2019
Document Type
Poster Session
Department
Social Work
Advisor
Caroline Shanti PhD
Keywords
opioid crisis, opioid use, OUD treatment, telemedicine, rural
Abstract
The ongoing opioid crisis has overwhelmed the traditional opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment resources across America. The treatment resources in rural communities have been especially hard hit as geographic and financial barriers limit service capacity. Telemedicine, or medicine delivered via remote means, has been proposed as a potential solution to the lack of conventional opioid treatment resources in rural Maine. Current legalities in the US prohibit telemedicine being used to prescribe opioid agonist drugs, and insurance reimbursement for telemedicine remains a major barrier. This qualitative content analysis looks at the existing research on telemedicine's treatment efficacy for use with OUD as well as the logistical strengths and challenges inherent in the implementation of telemedicine for rural communities. Peer reviewed academic journal articles from the past five years were selected based on their inclusion of content directly related to remotely delivered OUD treatment. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes in the existing use of telemedicine for OUD treatment delivery. These findings expose the limited data available on telemedicine as an independent OUD treatment modality, but also highlight the strengths of using telemedicine in support of traditional care.
Start Date
4-19-2019 9:00 AM
Recommended Citation
Knapp, Benjamin, "Opioid use Treatment via Telemedicine: Treatment Options for Rural Maine" (2019). Thinking Matters Symposium Archive. 216.
https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/thinking_matters/216
Included in
Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons, Health Services Research Commons, Social Work Commons, Telemedicine Commons
