Telehealth Intervention Helps to Combat Opioid Use Disorder and Chronic Pain

A randomized clinical trial published in the Journal of American Medical Association discovered that Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) could significantly enhance outcomes for individuals suffering with opioid use disorder (OUD) and chronic pain. This study comes as a response to the limitations of Methadone Treatment (MT) that often falls short in addressing the emotional dysregulation, pain, and reward processing deficits that contribute to OUD.

This research was conducted from August 2020 to June 2022 and enlisted 154 participants in New Jersey who underwent Methadone Treatment for OUD and experiencing chronic pain. The participants were divided into a group receiving Methadone Treatment as usual care and another receiving telehealth MORE in addition to usual care. The MORE group attended 8 weekly, 2-hour telehealth sessions, focusing on mindfulness, reappraisal, and savoring techniques.

The participants in the MORE plus usual care group exhibited significantly less return to drug use and lower dropout rates from Methadone Treatment when compared to those receiving usual care only. The hazard ratio for return to drug use was 0.58 (95% CI, 0.37-0.90), and for Methadone Treatment dropout, it was 0.41 (95% CI, 0.18-0.96). MORE participants also had fewer days of drug use, better methadone adherence, and experienced reductions in depression and pain compared to the usual care group. 

Telehealth MORE demonstrated its feasibility and critical impact on critical aspects of OUD management which ranged from drug use and treatment retention to pain and emotional well-being in patients. These findings highlight the potential of innovative telehealth approaches in addressing the complex interplay of addiction and chronic pain which helps in managing opioid use disorder.

Reference:

Cooperman, N. A., Lu, S.-E., Hanley, A. W., Puvananayagam, T., Dooley-Budsock, P., Kline, A., & Garland, E. L. (2023). Telehealth Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement vs Usual Care in Individuals With Opioid Use Disorder and Pain. In JAMA Psychiatry. American Medical Association (AMA). https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.5138