The COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed a fast and needed transformation within the supply of healthcare providers, particularly for susceptible populations with opioid use dysfunction (OUD). Regulatory flexibilities launched through the early months of the pandemic permitted telehealth-based initiation and upkeep of buprenorphine therapy with out the requirement for an in-person go to. These adjustments created a singular pure experiment to evaluate whether or not distant care may preserve and even enhance affected person outcomes in dependancy therapy.
A 2025 examine by Winters and Walter¹ gives compelling proof that telehealth not solely expanded entry to buprenorphine, but in addition considerably improved retention in care—arguably crucial predictor of restoration and lowered overdose threat. Of their retrospective cohort examine of sufferers with OUD at a big federally certified well being middle (FQHC), sufferers who had at the least one telehealth go to had been 3 times extra prone to obtain buprenorphine than these with out telehealth entry (OR = 3.2, CI: 2.1–5.0). Amongst those that initiated therapy, sufferers with telehealth publicity had practically twice the retention in buprenorphine care (common 6.8 months vs. 3.7 months; HR = 2.7, CI: 1.8–3.9). These findings validate the utility of distant engagement methods in bettering OUD therapy adherence and outcomes.
Though this examine centered on telehealth through synchronous video or audio encounters, it has necessary implications for the rising discipline of digital well being, significantly Distant Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM) platforms designed to maintain engagement and monitor treatment adherence between medical encounters. RTM leverages patient-reported knowledge—resembling temper, treatment adherence, cravings, and withdrawal signs—collected through cellular apps or related units. This info can be utilized to tailor interventions in actual time, assist adherence to treatment for opioid use dysfunction (MOUD), and notify suppliers of potential relapse dangers.
What the Winters and Walter examine illustrates is that sustaining a constant reference to sufferers outdoors conventional workplace settings is a strong mechanism to enhance retention. RTM platforms take this a step additional by embedding each day monitoring and asynchronous communication into sufferers’ lives, offering a type of “digital tethering” that promotes accountability and gives clinicians early indicators when intervention is required. Whereas the authors didn’t study RTM explicitly, their findings recommend that any modality enabling sustained contact, particularly when boundaries to in-person care exist, can considerably improve retention and outcomes.
Certainly, rising proof helps the effectiveness of digital interventions in power illness administration extra broadly. In diabetes, hypertension, and despair, distant monitoring instruments have been proven to extend treatment adherence, scale back hospitalizations, and enhance self-efficacy. The identical ideas apply to OUD: adherence to buprenorphine or different MOUD is straight correlated with lowered illicit opioid use, decrease overdose threat, and improved social and occupational functioning. Digital well being platforms that seize and reply to behavioral knowledge can reinforce adherence patterns and handle lapses early.
Furthermore, the advantages of RTM are prone to lengthen to different power sicknesses the place treatment adherence is strongly linked to medical outcomes. For instance, people with power ache—particularly these on long-term pharmacotherapy—typically expertise challenges associated to adherence, dosing consistency, and useful monitoring. RTM platforms that monitor symptom fluctuations, ache severity, treatment utilization, and exercise ranges can facilitate extra customized and responsive care. By figuring out traits and offering well timed interventions, RTM has the potential to enhance each the security and effectiveness of power ache administration, simply because it does for OUD. The identical framework might be tailored to different situations requiring ongoing therapeutic adherence and behavioral engagement, resembling bronchial asthma, coronary heart failure, or migraine.
RTM additionally fills a important hole in continuity of care. Sufferers with OUD typically face logistical, monetary, and social boundaries to attending frequent in-person appointments. This may be very true in rural areas, carceral programs, or amongst populations experiencing homelessness. RTM permits for steady engagement with out requiring fixed bodily presence, making it a scalable and equitable resolution.
Skeptics might argue that mHealth options and RTM platforms threat widening disparities in the event that they depend upon smartphone entry, digital literacy, or broadband infrastructure. Nevertheless, research carried out through the COVID-19 pandemic confirmed that even audio-only telehealth had important advantages for buprenorphine retention, significantly amongst high-risk populations. This underscores the significance of designing RTM instruments which are accessible throughout expertise platforms and adaptable to sufferers with low digital proficiency.
The coverage panorama can be starting to acknowledge the potential of RTM. The Facilities for Medicare & Medicaid Companies (CMS) has authorised CPT codes for RTM that permit reimbursement for monitoring of musculoskeletal ache, respiratory situations, and adherence to therapeutic regimens—an necessary step towards sustainability of digital well being in dependancy medication and different power care domains.
In conclusion, the examine by Winters and Walter (2025) gives robust empirical assist for the precept that distant engagement improves OUD therapy outcomes. Whereas their analysis centered on telehealth visits, the implications lengthen to RTM and different mHealth methods that maintain sufferers engaged between appointments. Digital instruments that foster ongoing contact, monitor adherence, and supply customized suggestions maintain nice promise in addressing some of the important challenges in dependancy medication: sustaining sufferers in therapy lengthy sufficient to attain stability and restoration. Policymakers, clinicians, and payers ought to prioritize the mixing and equitable growth of RTM platforms as a part of a broader effort to modernize care for people with opioid use dysfunction—and different power well being situations that depend on adherence and behavioral change for profitable outcomes.
About Dan Cohen
Dan Cohen, President and Cofounder of Adhere+, has over 40 years of management expertise in authorities, healthcare, and enterprise. He has constructed and led profitable startups that improve medical applied sciences and enhance affected person outcomes. With experience in finance, mergers, and product improvement, Cohen focuses on advancing Distant Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM) options that assist suppliers enhance care plan adherence and compliance.
References
- Winters, Ann MD, MPH; Walter, Eve PhD. The Influence of Telehealth on Buprenorphine Prescribing at a Giant Federally Certified Well being Heart Throughout COVID-19. Journal of Dependancy Medication 19(3):p 331-333, Might/June 2025. | DOI: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000001397
