Implementing Telehealth in MAT to Better Serve Rural Areas

Primary Presenter(s)

• • 

    Dustin Alvanas, MBA

    Vice President of Operations
    CODAC Inc.

    Disclosure: Nothing to disclose

Co-Presenter(s)

• 

  Christine Atkin
• 

  Mary Walton

CODAC Behavioral Healthcare, Rhode Island’s oldest and largest provider of OTP services, has developed a telehealth care model for immediate induction onto buprenorphine in rural and underserved areas. CODAC has established partnerships with federally qualified community health centers and EDs in rural areas to increase immediate access to and availability of care, reducing potential overdoses and mitigating stigma associated with MAT.
The presentation outlines the telehealth model, program workflow, prescribing practice, and the use of technology in providing care. Participants will be provided with a transferrable framework for establishing a telehealth program in their community.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the steps necessary to fully implement a telehealth program within an OTP
• Gain insight to increasing access to care in underserved and rural areas.
• Understand how to navigate the third party payer barriers in providing telehealth in an OTP