Symposia
Telehealth/m-Health
Michelle Maloney, Ph.D., LPC
Rogers Behavioral Health
Daytona Beach, Florida
Gregor Horvath, Ph.D.
Researcher
Rogers Behavioral Health
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
N.Z. Bulkes, Ph.D.
Researcher
Rogers Behavioral Health
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
D. Kick, Ph
Researcher
Rogers Behavioral Health
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
J. Hishmeh, Ph.D.
Researcher
Rogers Behavioral Health
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
S.R. LeNoue, Ph.D.
Researcher
Rogers Behavioral Health
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
This study examined the efficacy of telehealth (TH) services compared to in-person (IP) treatment for adults with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. The sample consisted of n = 6,586 adult patients (45.62% female) being treated in either a partial hospitalization (PHP; n = 4,070) or intensive outpatient (IOP; n = 2,516) level of care. Of these, n = 880 received TH care (13.36%, n = 620 PHP and n = 260 IOP). Outcome measures of symptom severity, quality of life, and behavioral activation were obtained at admission and discharge for all participants. T-tests examined whether patients receiving TH treatment differed from patients who received IP treatment on demographics, diagnoses occurrence, symptoms at baseline, and recovery medication usage. Lagged regressions were used to test hypotheses that patients receiving TH treatment would change similarly to patients receiving IP treatment. False discovery rate was used to control for Type I error inflation due to multiple testing. Notably, patients receiving telehealth treatment were more likely to be prescribed an FDA-approved recovery medication, d = 0.23, t = 5.76, p < 0.001. This difference was later controlled in the regressions. There was no evidence to suggest TH patients differed from IP patients in symptoms at discharge; however, supplementary analyses examining length of stay found that TH patients had on average 2.4 days longer treatment days than for IP patients, b = 2.40, SE = 0.71, p = 0.001. Hierarchical linear models likewise indicated that TH patients’ cravings (urges to use) improved more slowly, b = 0.15, SE = 0.03, p < 0.001, as did their depressive symptoms, b = 1.42, SE = 0.22, p < 0.001. Thus, although TH patients reach the same levels of recovery, they do so more slowly than IP patients. Thus, a telehealth care platform for the treatment of co-occurring mental health and addiction disorders may be beneficial, particularly for rural of underserved populations, but IP treatment should be preferred when available.