Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

But: Data also points out health inequities, too.

New research finds that telehealth offered Medicare providers another benefit during the pandemic. It allowed them to keep in closer touch with beneficiaries struggling with substance use disorders and possibly decreased the odds of overdose.

Details: The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH); and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) collaborated on a study that “examined the receipt of telehealth services, medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), and experiencing a medically treated overdose among individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) starting a new episode of care prior to the pandemic compared to those during the pandemic,” a CDC release indicates.

After reviewing the data of 175,778 Medicare beneficiaries receiving care between September 2018 and February 2021, the researchers found that access to telehealth greatly improved patients’ chances of sticking with a program of care. “The findings showed that telehealth improved the receipt and retention of MOUD, suggesting that this method of healthcare delivery may address common barriers to OUD-related treatment such as transportation and perceived stigma associated with OUD,” notes Carla Shoff, PhD, CMS social science research analyst, and lead analyst on the project, in the release.

Caveat: The feds found the research to be positive, but they also revealed that they need to work on striking down certain barriers to telehealth access, too. “Although the study did find that receiving OUD-related telehealth services was generally associated with beneficial outcomes, the study also determined some groups were less likely to receive these services, including non-Hispanic black persons and those living in the South,” the CDC says. “These outcomes underscore the need for future efforts to focus on eliminating the digital divide and reducing underlying inequities in access to care and services.”

Resource: Find the study at www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2022/p0831-ccovid-19-opioids.html.