The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) https://www.samhsa.gov, within HHS, recently released the report Telehealth for the Treatment of Serious Mental Illness and SUDs.
Chapter 4 in the report Examples of Telehealth Implementation in Treatment Programs, provides examples of organizations providing telehealth delivered practices used to treat Serious Mental Illness (SMI) and Substance Use Disorders (SUD).
One example related to implementing telehealth includes the Respectful Equitable Access to Compassionate Healthcare or referred to as the REACH Project, Inc., is located in Ithaca NY
https://reachproject.org. The Reach Project reaches several rural and urban communities across 32 counties in upstate N.Y. Over 90% of clients experience SUD. REACH provides low threshold access to SUD treatment.
REACH Project providers conduct visits virtually via audio-video technology on tablets, computers, and smartphones. Since some of REACH’s clients are rural and don’t have access to broadband, telehealth visits are also conducted via landline phones. Besides communicating with computers and landline phones, REACH communicates with clients by using asynchronous secure text messaging and messaging through the EMR system.
When REACH expanded their offerings via telehealth modalities in 2020, client engagement in telehealth appointments steadily increased. By shifting to telehealth, REACH initiated 407 new clients on MAT and has continued to provide necessary healthcare services to people with SUD.
Another program, the Eastern Shore Mobile Care Collaborative (ESMCC) located at the Caroline County Health Department in Maryland https://medschool.umaryland.edu/esmcc, uses a Mobile Treatment Unit to increase access to care. ESMCC works in partnership with the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s, Division of Addiction Research and Treatment.
The aim is to increase access to care by providing medication-based treatment for individuals with OUDs in the County with the goal to serve underserved rural communities through hybrid in-person and telehealth services.
The Mobile Treatment Unit is outfitted with HIPAA compliant video conferencing technology along with an in person team to provide SUD care. The Unit has a private room with a computer that has secure interactive video conferencing software.
Clients are connected virtually to addiction medicine specialists at the University of Maryland’s SOM who assess and diagnose the individual at the initial visit and monitor during follow-up visits. The Unit does not carry medications but has partnered with local pharmacies to ensure there is access to medications for OUD.
Go to https://store.samhsa.gov for the report Telehealth for the Treatment of Serious Mental Illness and SUDs which is part of the Evidence-based Resource Guide Series reports prepared by SAMHSA.