Telehealth Services for Substance Use Disorders During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Longitudinal Assessment of Intensive Outpatient Programming and Data Collection Practices

Background: The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the rapid transition of many types of substance use disorder (SUD) treatments to telehealth formats, despite limited information about what makes treatment effective in this novel format.

Objective: This study aims to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of virtual intensive outpatient programming (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 3642 patients who enrolled in intensive outpatient addiction treatment (in-person, hybrid, or virtual care) 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 postdischarge outcome survey as part of routine outcome monitoring (n=1060, 29.1% response rate).

Results: No significant differences were detected by delivery format in continuous abstinence (χ²₂=0.4, 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 SUD is a feasible alternative to in-person-only programming, leading to similar self-reported outcomes at 3 months postdischarge. 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.