Contact: Steven Lee, (210) 450-3823, lees22@uthscsa.edu
SAN ANTONIO, Dec. 30, 2024 – Patients with opioid use disorder can reduce the number of days they use opioids and extend treatment time when they use a smartphone app as supportive care in combination with medication, says University of Texas Health. A new study by the Science Center has been published. at the San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) show.
In a cohort study of 600 underserved patients, patients who chose to use an app that combined emergency behavioral therapy and peer recovery support in conjunction with drug therapy were more likely to They found a 35% reduction in days of opioid use compared to patients treated with medication alone. Additionally, app users remained in treatment nearly 19% longer than those treated with medication alone.
“These findings suggest that augmenting medication for opioid use disorder with app-based crisis management may provide clinical benefit to underserved patients. ” said Dr. Elise Marino, director of research operations at the Bewell Institute for Substance Use and Related Disorders at UT Health San Antonio. . “Expanding the availability of app-based emergency management could help reduce the significant social, economic, and personal burden of opioid use.”
Marino is the lead author of a study published in JAMA Network Open titled “Smartphone App-Based Emergency Management and Treatment Outcomes for Opioid Use Disorder.” Other authors are also affiliated with UT Health San Antonio’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Be Well Institute.
need to increase medication
Opioid use disorder remains a national crisis, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality. Annual social costs in the United States reached $968.9 billion in 2018, the study said.
Medicinal treatments for opioid use disorder (e.g., methadone, buprenorphine, naltrexone) (MOUD) are recognized as the only evidence-based treatments for this condition. This first-line treatment has been shown to significantly reduce opioid-related morbidity and mortality and provide consistent cost savings.
However, some patients still have difficulty reducing their opioid use and continuing treatment, pointing to the need to strengthen MOUD. Many conditions benefit from dual treatment of medications and therapy. One treatment option is contingency management (CM), which provides financial incentives to achieve treatment goals.
This treatment has traditionally been performed in the clinic after a negative urine drug screen for opioids. Although findings are mixed, several reviews and studies have found that people treated with MOUD and CM have better retention and fewer positive opioid results on urine drug screens.
However, a long-standing limitation is that patients must attend multiple in-person appointments per week for treatment. Due to the recent coronavirus pandemic, many people were reluctant to visit the CM in person. Additional access barriers such as transportation, distance from clinics, and child care arrangements support other options such as telemedicine and leveraging new technology.
there is an app
One such technology is the WEconnect Health CM smartphone app. This app provides evidence-based CM built into a recovery-oriented framework. In addition to providing drug-related behavioral goals, patients can achieve personally meaningful daily goals, both drug use-related and non-use-related, such as attending a Narcotics Anonymous meeting, taking a walk, or reading a book. can be set.
The app also includes a platform to track patient progress and payments, and provides encouragement to reach daily goals. Additionally, WEconnect provides one-on-one peer support and online meetings from certified peers. In contrast to traditional CM, this app allows patients to make decisions about their own treatment goals and explore recovery through peer support services that are available anywhere and can be accessed outside of regular clinic hours. .
In the new study, scientists set out to assess whether augmenting MOUD with app-based CM is associated with fewer days of opioid use at the end of treatment and higher retention than treatment with MOUD alone. I started.
This retrospective cohort study, which follows groups of people over time, used data from November 1, 2020, to November 30, 2023, collected from opioid treatment programs across Texas. This cohort included 600 uninsured or underinsured individuals aged 18 and older who chose to receive MOUD only or MOUD and CM delivered by the WEconnect smartphone app. Ta.
Patients who chose to receive MOUD and app-based CM reported an average duration of opioid use at the end of treatment of 8.4 days, compared to 12 days for patients who chose to receive MOUD alone. . In the retention analysis, patients who chose to receive MOUD plus app-based CM had an average duration of treatment of 290.2 days, compared to 236.1 days for patients who chose to receive MOUD alone.
“These results are encouraging and highlight the potential importance of patients’ decisions to use app-based CM,” the researchers concluded. “Despite the challenges of engaging patients in other app-based interventions, adding recovery-oriented app-based CM could enhance clinical care and help patients who have been underserved to date. This could be one way to meet the growing needs of patients receiving MOUD.”
UT Health San Antonio is a world-class research university, ranked in the top 5% of institutions worldwide for clinical medicine according to U.S. News & World Report. The university ranks 12th in the world among universities in terms of the impact of its discoveries. Standardized citation impact, which compares the number of citations a study receives per paper to the average of similar published papers, is recognized as a central measure of research impact.
Smartphone app-based emergency management and treatment outcomes for opioid use disorder
Elise N. Marino, Tara Kearns-Wright, Matthew C. Perez, Jennifer S. Potter
First publication date: December 2, 2024, JAMA Network Open
Link to full study: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2827185
The University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science Center (UT Health San Antonio) is a major driver of San Antonio’s $44.1 billion health care and bioscience sector and a $413 million annual research portfolio in South Texas. It is the largest academic research institution. With six professional schools, more than 8,500 diverse employees, an annual expense budget of $1.46 billion, and clinical operations that provide 2.6 million patient visits each year, UT drives significant economic impact. Health San Antonio plans to add more than 1,500 high-paying employees. Jobs will be added over the next five years to serve San Antonio, Bexar County and South Texas. Visit UTHealthSA.org to learn more about how we make lives better®.
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UT Health San Antonio’s Be Well Institute for Substance Use and Related Disorders is a comprehensive, evidence-based clinic that provides compassionate, evidence-based treatment for substance use and related mental health issues throughout Texas. This is a care system with low hurdles. The Institute reduces barriers to treatment and supports recovery through comprehensive services, including a hybrid clinic offering virtual and in-person services, a statewide provider network of more than 140 community partners, and peer recovery support. I am. We also lead cutting-edge research to advance treatments and provide employee training to disseminate best practices. The federally and state-funded institute is dedicated to expanding access, reducing stigma, and improving care for individuals and families affected by substance use disorders. Visit bewelltexas.org.
