Table 1.
Logistic Regression of Association Between Buprenorphine Inductions Delivered via Telemedicine and Patient/Clinician Characteristics (March 13, 2020, Through May 2021). Analysis adjusts for patient- and provider-level clustering
| No. of inductions (%) | Adjusted odds ratio of having a telemedicine induction (95% CI) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telemedicine (n=3,312) |
In-person (n=19,257) |
||||
| Patient characteristics | Race/ethnicity | White | 2676 (81) | 15445 (80) | Reference |
| Black | 262 (8) | 1885 (10) | 0.83 (0.72, 0.96) | ||
| Other | 286 (9) | 1576 (8) | 0.99 (0.86, 1.14) | ||
| Unknown | 88 (3) | 351 (2) | 1.34 (1.04, 1.71) | ||
| Patient sex | Male | 1669 (50) | 9808 (51) | Reference | |
| Female | 1643 (50) | 9449 (49) | 1.03 (0.95, 1.11) | ||
| Reason for Medicare enrollment | Old age | 721 (22) | 4042 (21) | Reference | |
| Disabled, ESRD, or both | 2591 (78) | 15215 (79) | 1.04 (0.91, 1.20) | ||
| Age | <65 | 2208 (67) | 13050 (68) | Reference | |
| 65–74 | 888 (27) | 4944 (26) | 1.06 (0.94, 1.21) | ||
| 75+ | 216 (7) | 1263 (7) | 1.02 (0.83, 1.24) | ||
| Rurality^ | Urban | 2460 (74) | 13078 (68) | Reference | |
| Rural | 852 (26) | 6179 (32) | 0.79 (0.72, 0.86) | ||
| Dual | No | 1226 (37) | 6635 (34) | Reference | |
| Yes | 2086 (63) | 12622 (66) | 0.86 (0.79, 0.94) | ||
| Region | Northeast | 923 (28) | 4102 (21) | Reference | |
| Midwest | 584 (18) | 3680 (19) | 0.74 (0.66, 0.84) | ||
| West | 858 (26) | 4219 (22) | 0.96 (0.87, 1.07) | ||
| South Atlantic | 947 (29) | 7255 (38) | 0.64 (0.57, 0.71) | ||
| Clinician characteristics | Clinician sex | Male | 1988 (60) | 12217 (64) | Reference |
| Female | 1322 (39) | 6998 (36) | 1.17 (1.07, 1.29) | ||
| Specialty | Primary care physician** | 1024 (31) | 7407 (39) | Reference | |
| Psychiatrist | 490 (15) | 1573 (8) | 2.01 (1.77, 2.29) | ||
| Anesthesiologist | 308 (9) | 1995 (10) | 0.93 (0.80, 1.08) | ||
| NP (primary care specialty***) | 518 (16) | 2992 (16) | 1.08 (0.95, 1.23) | ||
| Non-physician clinician (other) | 301 (9) | 1713 (9) | 1.11 (0.95, 1.30) | ||
| Physician (other) | 347 (11) | 1997 (10) | 1.20 (1.05, 1.38) | ||
| PA/NP (non-primary care specialty) | 322 (10) | 1578 (8) | 1.18 (1.02, 1.36) | ||
| Years of experience | 0–19 | 1467 (47) | 8471 (46) | Reference | |
| 20–30 | 689 (22) | 4415 (24) | 1.02 (0.92, 1.15) | ||
| 31–40 | 628 (20) | 3778 (20) | 1.09 (0.97, 1.23) | ||
| ≥ 41 | 369 (12) | 1895 (10) | 1.19 (1.01, 1.35) | ||
| Practice size | Solo practitioner | 582 (18) | 4118 (22) | Reference | |
| Small (2–9) | 882 (28) | 5089 (27) | 1.36 (1.20, 1.55) | ||
| Medium (10–49) | 1282 (41) | 6618 (36) | 1.38 (1.22, 1.56) | ||
| Large (>50) | 410 (13) | 2742 (15) | 1.19 (1.02, 1.37) | ||
Abbreviations: NP, nurse practitioner; PA, physician assistant; ESRD, end stage renal disease
**Includes family medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics
***Includes NPs with a specialty of family medicine, adult health, gerontology, and pediatrics
^Rural-urban communing area under the 4-category U.S. Census designation