- The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) published a recap of a meeting held by two of its workgroups to examine challenges to fully integrating telehealth and virtual care for both pain management and substance use disorder (SUD). The first meeting of the four-part series was an introductory meeting focused on two objectives: (1) introduce the goals and themes for the meeting series and (2) learn from those with lived experience who are providing, accessing, and navigating telehealth-enabled pain management and SUD care to understand common barriers and challenges as well as opportunities for the improved integration of these services across care settings. The group identified five priorities for future discussion: Build new hybrid, integrated models for chronic pain management and OUD/SUD care; 2) Address clinical challenges to virtual care for pain management and OUD/SUD and share best practices; 3) Identify solutions to regulatory and payment challenges that limit consistent access to virtual care for patients with pain and OUD/SUD; 4) Recognize the urgent risk of worsening inequity unless the digital divide can be effectively addressed; and 5) Listen to those with lived experiences and build it into priorities for action. (Discussion proceedings here)
July 1, 2022
Opioid/Substance Use Disorders