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PURPOSE: The use of telemedicine (TM) has accelerated in recent years, yet research on the implementation and effectiveness of TM-delivered medication treatment for opioid use disorder (MOUD) has been limited. This study investigated the feasibility of implementing a care coordination model involving MOUD delivered via an external TM provider for the purpose of expanding access to MOUD for patients in rural settings. METHODS: The study tested a care coordination model in 6 rural primary care sites by establishing referral and coordination between the clinic and a TM company for MOUD. The intervention spanned approximately 6 months from July/August 2020 to January 2021, coinciding with the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Each clinic tracked patients with OUD in a registry during the intervention period. A pre-/post-intervention design (N = 6) was used to assess the clinic-level outcome as patient-days on MOUD based on patient electronic health records. FINDINGS: All clinics implemented critical components of the intervention, with an overall TM referral rate of 11.7% among patients in the registry. Five of the 6 sites showed an increase in patient-days on MOUD during the intervention period compared to the 6-month period before the intervention (mean increase per 1,000 patients: 132 days, P = .08, Cohens d = 0.55). The largest increases occurred in clinics that lacked MOUD capacity or had a greater number of patients initiating MOUD during the intervention period. CONCLUSIONS: To expand access to MOUD in rural settings, the care coordination model is most effective when implemented in clinics that have negligible or limited MOUD capacity.

Telemedicine (TM) enabled by digital health technologies to provide medical services has been considered a key solution to increasing health care access in rural communities. With the immediate need for remote care due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many health care systems have rapidly incorporated digital technologies to support the delivery of remote care options, including medication treatment for individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD). In responding to the opioid crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, public health officials and scientific communities strongly support and advocate for greater use of TM-based medication treatment for opioid use disorder (MOUD) to improve access to care and have suggested that broad use of TM during the pandemic should be sustained. Nevertheless, research on the implementation and effectiveness of TM-based MOUD has been limited. To address this knowledge gap, the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) funded (via the NIH HEAL Initiative) a study on Rural Expansion of Medication Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder (Rural MOUD; CTN-0102) to investigate the implementation and effectiveness of adding TM-based MOUD to rural primary care for expanding access to MOUD. In preparation for this large-scale, randomized controlled trial incorporating TM in rural primary care, a feasibility study is being conducted to develop and pilot test implementation procedures. In this commentary, we share some of our experiences, which include several challenges, during the initial two-month period of the feasibility study phase. While these challenges could be due, at least in part, to adjusting to the COVID-19 pandemic and new workflows to accommodate the study, they are notable and could have a substantial impact on the larger, planned pragmatic trial and on TM-based MOUD more broadly. Challenges include low rates of identification of risk for OUD from screening, low rates of referral to TM, digital device and internet access issues, workflow and capacity barriers, and insurance coverage. These challenges also highlight the lack of empirical guidance for best TM practice and quality remote care models. With TM expanding rapidly, understanding implementation and demonstrating what TM approaches are effective are critical for ensuring the best care for persons with OUD.

Patient stakeholders are getting increasingly involved in research health data networks, particularly as research partners. However, tools do not exist to help effectively orient, educate, and engage patient stakeholders as they take on these roles. Using a human centered design approach, we conducted a patient stakeholder needs assessment qualitative study to identify key user needs to drive design recommendations for development of an online education and engagement tool for research health data networks. We found three key needs related to multiple role identities, motivations and expectations for participation on research teams, and patient journeys. Design recommendations derived from the needs assessment are discussed that can support future tool design and testing.

Patient stakeholders are getting increasingly involved in research health data networks, particularly as research partners. However, tools do not exist to help effectively orient, educate, and engage patient stakeholders as they take on these roles. Using a human centered design approach, we conducted a patient stakeholder needs assessment qualitative study to identify key user needs to drive design recommendations for development of an online education and engagement tool for research health data networks. We found three key needs related to multiple role identities, motivations and expectations for participation on research teams, and patient journeys. Design recommendations derived from the needs assessment are discussed that can support future tool design and testing.

Background and Aims: International Classification of Diseases (ICD) diagnosis codes are often used in research to identify patients with opioid use disorder (OUD), but their accuracy for this purpose is not fully evaluated. This study describes application of ICD‐10 diagnosis codes for opioid use, dependence and abuse from an electronic health record (EHR) data extraction using data from the clinics' OUD patient registries and clinician/staff EHR entries. Design: Cross‐sectional observational study. Setting: Four rural primary care clinics in Washington and Idaho, USA. Participants: 307 patients. Measurements This study used three data sources from each clinic: (1) a limited dataset extracted from the EHR, (2) a clinic‐based registry of patients with OUD and (3) the clinician/staff interface of the EHR (e.g. progress notes, problem list). Data source one included records with six commonly applied ICD‐10 codes for opioid use, dependence and abuse: F11.10 (opioid abuse, uncomplicated), F11.20 (opioid dependence, uncomplicated), F11.21 (opioid dependence, in remission), F11.23 (opioid dependence with withdrawal), F11.90 (opioid use, unspecified, uncomplicated) and F11.99 (opioid use, unspecified with unspecified opioid‐induced disorder). Care coordinators used data sources two and three to categorize each patient identified in data source one: (1) confirmed OUD diagnosis, (2) may have OUD but no confirmed OUD diagnosis, (3) chronic pain with no evidence of OUD and (4) no evidence for OUD or chronic pain. Findings F11.10, F11.21 and F11.99 were applied most frequently to patients who had clinical diagnoses of OUD (64%, 89% and 79%, respectively). F11.20, F11.23 and F11.90 were applied to patients who had a diagnostic mix of OUD and chronic pain without OUD. The four clinics applied codes inconsistently. Conclusions: Lack of uniform application of ICD diagnosis codes make it challenging to use diagnosis code data from EHR to identify a research population of persons with opioid use disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: With age, older adults experience a greater number of chronic diseases and medical visits, and an increased need to manage their health information. Technological advances in consumer health information technologies (HITs) help patients gather, track, and organize their health information within and outside of clinical settings. However, HITs have not focused on the needs of older adults and their caregivers. The goal of the SOARING (Studying Older Adults and Researching their Information Needs and Goals) Project was to understand older adult personal health information management (PHIM) needs and practices to inform the design of HITs that support older adults.Materials and Methods: Drawing on the Work System Model, we took an ecological approach to investigate PHIM needs and practices of older adults in different residential settings. We conducted in-depth interviews and surveys with adults 60 years of age and older.Results: We performed on-site in-person interview sessions with 88 generally healthy older adults in various settings including independent housing, retirement communities, assisted living, and homelessness. Our analysis revealed 5 key PHIM activities that older adults engage in: seeking, tracking, organizing, sharing health information, and emergency planning. We identified 3 major themes influencing older adults' practice of PHIM: (1) older adults are most concerned with maintaining health and preventing illness, (2) older adults frequently involve others in PHIM activities, and (3) older adults' approach to PHIM is situational and context-dependent.Discussion: Older adults' approaches to PHIM are dynamic and sensitive to changes in health, social networks, personal habits, motivations, and goals.Conclusions: PHIM tools that meet the needs of older adults should accommodate the dynamic nature of aging and variations in individual, organizational, and social contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: People often prefer evidence-based psychosocial interventions (EBPIs) for mental health care; however, these interventions frequently remain unavailable to people in nonspecialty or integrated settings, such as primary care and schools. Previous research has suggested that usability, a concept from human-centered design, could support an understanding of the barriers to and facilitators of the successful adoption of EBPIs and support the redesign of EBPIs and implementation strategies. Objective: This study aimed to identify and categorize usability issues in EBPIs and their implementation strategies. Methods: We adapted a usability issue analysis and reporting format from a human-centered design. A total of 13 projects supported by the National Institute of Mental Health—funded Accelerating the Reach and Impact of Treatments for Youth and Adults with Mental Illness Center at the University of Washington used this format to describe usability issues for EBPIs and implementation strategies with which they were working. Center researchers used iterative affinity diagramming and coding processes to identify usability issue categories. On the basis of these categories and the underlying issues, we propose heuristics for the design or redesign of EBPIs and implementation strategies. Results: The 13 projects reported a total of 90 usability issues, which we categorized into 12 categories, including complex and/or cognitively overwhelming, required time exceeding available time, incompatibility with interventionist preference or practice, incompatibility with existing workflow, insufficient customization to clients/recipients, intervention buy-in (value), interventionist buy-in (trust), overreliance on technology, requires unavailable infrastructure, inadequate scaffolding for client/recipient, inadequate training and scaffolding for interventionists, and lack of support for necessary communication. These issues range from minor inconveniences that affect a few interventionists or recipients to severe issues that prevent all interventionists or recipients in a setting from completing part or all of the intervention. We propose 12 corresponding heuristics to guide EBPIs and implementation strategy designers in preventing and addressing these usability issues. Conclusions: Usability issues were prevalent in the studied EBPIs and implementation strategies. We recommend using the lens of usability evaluation to understand and address barriers to the effective use and reach of EBPIs and implementation strategies. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): RR2-10.2196/14990 J Med Internet Res 2022;24(6):e37585 doi:10.2196/37585 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Older adults are the largest consumers of healthcare. As part of a broader study of personal health information management (PHIM), we interviewed older adults in King County, Washington, and their involved family and friends (FF), regarding health information (HI) sources they seek and utilize. Analysis of interview transcripts revealed four main themes: 1) older adults and FF consider healthcare providers the foundational source of HI; 2) older adults utilize FF for seeking, sharing, and interpreting HI, while FF serve as surrogate seekers and experience-based experts; 3) online searching is common for older adults and FF, but confidence in assessing the quality of online HI is often lacking; 4) a smorgasbord approach is frequently utilized by older adults and FF for gathering and clarifying HI. Design considerations include: facilitating access to quality provider-vetted HI, incorporating older adults and FF in the design process, and creating shared spaces for communication of HI among older adults, FF, and providers.