The provision of counseling to patients receiving medications for opioid use disorder: Telehealth innovations and challenges in the age of COVID-19

Historically, federal and state policies have narrowly defined treatment models that have resulted in limited access to and engagement in counseling for individuals receiving medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD; e.g., methadone and buprenorphine). In response to the coronavirus pandemic, outpatient MOUD treatment providers rapidly transitioned from traditional, in-person care delivery models to revised COVID-19 protocols that prioritized telehealth counseling to protect the health of patients and staff and ensure continuity in MOUD care. These telehealth innovations appear to mitigate many of the longstanding barriers to counseling in the traditional system and have the potential to forever alter MOUD care delivery. Drawing on data from a Rhode Island–based clinic, we argue that MOUD counseling is achievable via telehealth and outline the need for, and anticipated benefits of, hybrid telehealth/in-person MOUD treatment models moving forward.