Telehealth and phone access for buprenorphine after COVID-19
COVID-19 Pandemic: Natural Experiment in Telehealth on Buprenorphine Treatment in a Large Integrated Healthcare System
This project looks at whether allowing telehealth and phone visits helped Veterans start and stay on buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Yale University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New Haven, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11370810 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
From your perspective, this project uses VA electronic health records to compare how many Veterans started and stayed on buprenorphine before and after COVID-era telehealth rule changes. The team treats the regulatory change as a natural experiment that allowed phone and video visits for buprenorphine initiation and maintenance. They will compare new starters versus long-standing patients and track outcomes such as continued treatment and treatment gaps. The work uses existing VA records across the health system, so no extra visits or tests are required from patients.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates for relevance are Veterans in the VA health system who are 21 or older and who have started or may start buprenorphine for opioid use disorder.
Not a fit: People who are not VA patients or who do not have opioid use disorder are unlikely to be directly affected by this research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could support more flexible telehealth rules that make buprenorphine easier to access and help more Veterans remain in treatment.
How similar studies have performed: Smaller program reports and local studies suggest telehealth can improve access to medications for opioid use disorder, but large system-wide analyses using VA EHR data are less common.
Where this research is happening
New Haven, United States
- Yale University — New Haven, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Fink, David Stanley — Yale University
- Study coordinator: Fink, David Stanley
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.