Coronavirus Disease 2019 and the Impact on Substance Use Disorder Treatments

Osnat C Melamed; Wayne K deRuiter; Leslie Buckley; Peter Selby

doi:10.1016/j.psc.2021.11.006

Coronavirus Disease 2019 and the Impact on Substance Use Disorder Treatments

Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2022 Mar;45(1):95-107. doi: 10.1016/j.psc.2021.11.006. Epub 2021 Nov 12.

Authors

Osnat C Melamed¹, Wayne K deRuiter², Leslie Buckley³, Peter Selby⁴

Affiliations

¹ Nicotine Dependence Service, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 1025 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario M6J1H4, Canada; Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, 500 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5G1V7, Canada.
² Nicotine Dependence Service, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 1025 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario M6J1H4, Canada.
³ Addictions Division, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 1001 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario M6J1H4, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, 250 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5T1R8, Canada.
⁴ Nicotine Dependence Service, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 1025 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario M6J1H4, Canada; Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, 500 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5G1V7, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, 250 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5T1R8, Canada; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street Room 500, Toronto, Ontario M5T3M7, Canada. Electronic address: peter.selby@camh.ca.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related stressors and restrictions, in the absence of social and institutional support, have led many individuals to either increase their substance consumption or relapse. Consequently, treatment programs for substance use disorders (SUDs) made a transition from in-person to remote care delivery. This review discusses the following evidence regarding changes prompted by the COVID pandemic to the clinical care of individuals with SUDs: (1) reduction in availability of care, (2) increase in demand for care, (3) transition to telemedicine use, (4) telemedicine for treatment of opioid use disorders, and (5) considerations for use of telemedicine in treating SUDs.

Keywords: COVID-19; Digital technology; Opioid use disorder; Pandemic; Substance use disorder treatment; Telemedicine.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

COVID-19*
Humans
Opioid-Related Disorders* / drug therapy
Pandemics
SARS-CoV-2
Substance-Related Disorders* / epidemiology
Substance-Related Disorders* / therapy
Telemedicine*