ABOUT THE SERIES

Throughout the course of the COVID-19 public health emergency, telehealth and virtual care services have emerged as potentially paradigm-shifting tools for both pain management and substance use disorder (SUD) care. Yet, several challenges remain—related to policy, regulation, payment, training, technology, and equity—to allow for the full integration of these services into the continuum of pain management and SUD care.

In an effort to better understand both the challenges and opportunities for telehealth and virtual care within the pain management and SUD care ecosystems, the Collaborative’s Working Groups on Pain Management Guidelines and Evidence Standards (PM) and Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services (PTR) will convene a four-party meeting series as a forum to explore both the barriers and opportunities for expanding telehealth and virtual care services in pain management and OUD/SUD care.

These discussions will identify key barriers and opportunities for expanding telehealth and virtual care services for pain and OUD/SUD, including actionable and evidence-informed guidance that can support future decision-making by policymakers, regulators, payers, health systems, clinicians, and patients. The series will culminate in a publication that will identify key areas for future action, research, and investment, pertaining to policymakers, payers, health systems, clinicians, and patients alike.

MEETINGS & MATERIALS

Learn more about Opioid Action Collaborative’s four-part meeting series on telehealth and virtual care. The series is organized around three primary thematic areas—access, care delivery and innovation, and quality of care—the series will bring together stakeholders from across the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors, as well as those with lived experience, to collectively consider what the future of telehealth and virtual for pain management and SUD should look like, and discuss strategies, policies, and systems changes to get us there. Click below for materials from each discussion.

Integrating Telehealth and Traditional Care in Chronic Pain Management and Substance Use Disorder Treatment: An Action Agenda for Building the Future State of Hybrid Care

The surge in telehealth and virtual care services opened new horizons in health care delivery, particularly in the domains of chronic pain management and substance use disorder care. Drawing on insights from this four-part telehealth meeting series, an action agenda proposes concrete steps that stakeholders—including health professionals, health system leaders, educators, policy makers, regulators, payers, researchers, technology developers, and patients and caregivers—can take to advance hybrid care models that leverage the strengths of telehealth and traditional in-person care to improve access, safety, quality, and the overall value of chronic pain management and substance use disorder care.

Questions? Contact us at opioidcollaborative@nas.edu