Telehealth Services for Substance Use Disorders: A 3-month Longitudinal Assessment of Intensive Outpatient Programming and Data Collection Practices During the COVID-19 Pandemic (Preprint)

BACKGROUND The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the rapid transition of many types of substance use disorder (SUD) treatment to telehealth formats, despite limited information about what makes treatment effective in this novel format. OBJECTIVE To examine the feasibility and effectiveness of virtual intensive outpatient program (IOP) treatment for SUD in the context of a global pandemic, while considering the unique challenges posed to data collection during an unprecedented public health crisis. METHODS The study is based on a longitudinal study with a baseline sample of 3,642 patients who enrolled in intensive outpatient addiction treatment (in-person, hybrid, or virtual) from January 2020 to March 2021 at a large substance use treatment center in the United States. The analytical sample consisted of patients who completed the 3-month post-discharge outcome survey as part of routine outcome monitoring (n = 1,060) (response rate = 29%). RESULTS No significant differences were detected by delivery format in continuous abstinence (χ2 = 0.42, P = .81), overall quality of life (F(2,826) = 2.06, P = .13), financial well-being (F(2,767) = 2.30, P = .10), psychological well-being (F(2,918) = 0.72, P = .49), and confidence in one’s ability to stay sober (F(2,941) = 0.21, P = .81). Individuals in hybrid programming were more likely to report a higher level of general health than those in virtual IOP (F(2,917) = 4.19, P = .01). CONCLUSIONS Virtual outpatient care for the treatment of SUDs is a feasible alternative to in-person only programming leading to similar self-reported outcomes at 3-months post-discharge. Given the many obstacles presented throughout data collection during a pandemic, further research is needed to better understand under what conditions telehealth is an acceptable alternative to in-person care.