Telehealth May Be As Effective As In-Person Visits For Maintaining MAT For People In Addiction Treatment

Telehealth visits may be as effective as in-person visits for maintaining continuous medication assisted treatment (MAT) for at least three months after starting MAT, according to a rapid evidence review. Further, contingency management improved treatment retention when combined with antagonist MAT, but not with agonist forms of MAT. Applicability, however, may be limited due to implementation challenges.

There were no differences in treatment retention for people using extended-release (XR) buprenorphine in either injectable or implant formulations compared with daily buprenorphine. There were conflicting results with XR-naltrexone injection compared with daily buprenorphine. The addition of psychosocial interventions did . . .