Smartphone App for Supportive Management of Opioid Use Disorder: Study Finds - Video

Patients with opioid use disorder can reduce their days of opioid use and stay in treatment longer when using a smartphone app as supportive therapy in combination with medication, a new study by The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio shows. The findings are published in JAMA network open.

The cohort study of 600 underserved patients found that those who chose to use the app – which combines contingency management behavioral therapy and recovery support from peers – and alongside medication, reduced their days of opioid use by 35% compared with those treated with medication only. Additionally, app users remained in treatment nearly 19% longer than those treated with medication alone.

The retrospective cohort study, which refers to research that follows a group of people over time, used data from Nov.1, 2020, to Nov. 30, 2023, collected from opioid treatment programs across Texas. The cohort included 600 individuals aged 18 years or older who were uninsured or underinsured and who chose to receive Medication for opioid use disorder only or Medication for opioid use disorder plus contingency management delivered by the WEconnect smartphone app. The app delivers evidence-based contingency management embedded in a recovery-oriented framework.

Those who chose to receive Medication for opioid use disorder plus app-based contingency management reported a mean duration of 8.4 days of opioid use at the end of treatment compared with 12 days for those who chose to receive Medication for opioid use disorder only. Retention analysis showed that patients who chose to receive Medication for opioid use disorder plus app-based contingency management stayed with their treatment for a mean duration of 290.2 days, compared with 236.1 days for those choosing to receive Medication for opioid use disorder only.

“These findings suggest that augmenting medication for opioid use disorder with app-based contingency management may provide clinical benefits for underserved patients,” said Elise Marino, PhD, director of research operations at UT Health San Antonio’s Be Well Institute on Substance Use and Related Disorders. “Expanding the availability of app-based contingency management may contribute to decreasing the immense societal, economic and personal burden of opioid use.”

Reference: Marino EN, Karns-Wright T, Perez MC, Potter JS. Smartphone App–Based Contingency Management and Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Outcomes. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(12):e2448405. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.48405