Table 1. Descriptive Comparison of Patient Characteristics Across Treatment Modalities Among VHA Patients Who Received Buprenorphine for OUD in the Year Following COVID-19–Related Changes.
| Characteristic | All patients (n = 17 182) | Patients with any telehealth visits (n = 15 071) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. (%) | P valuea | No. (%) | P valuea | |||
| ≥1 Video or telephone visit | Only in-person visits | ≥1 Video visit | ≥1 Telephone visit; no video | |||
| Age group | ||||||
| 18-29 | 299 (2.0) | 71 (3.4) | <.001 | 147 (2.2) | 152 (1.8) | <.001 |
| 30-44 | 6157 (40.9) | 937 (44.4) | 3014 (46.0) | 3143 (36.9) | ||
| 45-64 | 5500 (36.5) | 751 (35.6) | 2313 (35.3) | 3187 (37.4) | ||
| ≥65 | 3115 (20.7) | 352 (16.7) | 1073 (16.4) | 2042 (24.0) | ||
| Sex | ||||||
| Female | 1209 (8.0) | 138 (6.5) | .02 | 608 (9.3) | 601 (7.1) | <.001 |
| Male | 13 862 (92.0) | 1973 (93.5) | 5939 (90.7) | 7923 (92.9) | ||
| Race | ||||||
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 130 (0.9) | 15 (0.7) | .004 | 61 (0.9) | 69 (0.8) | <.001 |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 139 (0.9) | 21 (1.0) | 71 (1.1) | 68 (0.8) | ||
| Black | 1646 (10.9) | 290 (13.7) | 575 (8.8) | 1071 (12.6) | ||
| White | 12 408 (82.3) | 1677 (79.4) | 5511 (84.2) | 6897 (80.9) | ||
| Unknown | 748 (5.0) | 108 (5.1) | 329 (5.0) | 419 (4.9) | ||
| Ethnicity | ||||||
| Hispanic | 766 (5.1) | 124 (5.9) | .12 | 351 (5.4) | 415 (4.9) | .17 |
| Non-Hispanic | 14 305 (94.9) | 1987 (94.1) | 6196 (94.6) | 8109 (95.1) | ||
| VA eligibility status | ||||||
| Non-service connected | 4631 (30.7) | 661 (31.3) | .86 | 1774 (27.1) | 2857 (33.5) | <.001 |
| Service connection <50% | 2635 (17.5) | 364 (17.2) | 1102 (16.8) | 1533 (18.0) | ||
| Service connection 50%-100% | 7805 (51.8) | 1086 (51.4) | 3671 (56.1) | 4134 (48.5) | ||
| Rurality | ||||||
| Urban | 12 888 (85.5) | 1826 (86.5) | .17 | 5609 (85.7) | 7279 (85.4) | .77 |
| Large rural | 1096 (7.3) | 147 (7.0) | 477 (7.3) | 619 (7.3) | ||
| Small/isolated rural | 801 (5.3) | 91 (4.3) | 334 (5.1) | 467 (5.5) | ||
| Unknown | 286 (1.9) | 47 (2.2) | 127 (1.9) | 159 (1.9) | ||
| Homelessness/housing instability | 3507 (23.3) | 770 (36.5) | <.001 | 1427 (21.8) | 2080 (24.4) | <.001 |
| Alcohol use disorder | 5173 (34.3) | 957 (45.3) | <.001 | 2226 (34.0) | 2947 (34.6) | .46 |
| Cannabis use disorder | 1865 (12.4) | 424 (20.1) | <.001 | 793 (12.1) | 1072 (12.6) | .39 |
| Stimulant use disorder | 4301 (28.5) | 951 (45.0) | <.001 | 1852 (28.3) | 2449 (28.7) | .55 |
| Other drug use disorderb | 3302 (21.9) | 799 (37.8) | <.001 | 1452 (22.2) | 1850 (21.7) | .49 |
| Depressive disorder | 7850 (52.1) | 1228 (58.2) | <.001 | 3433 (52.4) | 4417 (51.8) | .45 |
| Posttraumatic stress disorder | 7099 (47.1) | 1102 (52.2) | <.001 | 3245 (49.6) | 3854 (45.2) | <.001 |
| Anxiety disorder | 5940 (39.4) | 949 (45.0) | <.001 | 2619 (40.0) | 3321 (39.0) | .19 |
| Serious mental illnessc | 2391 (15.9) | 472 (22.4) | <.001 | 1090 (16.6) | 1301 (15.3) | .02 |
| No. of Elixhauser comorbidities (excluding OUD) | ||||||
| 0 | 1726 (11.5) | 159 (7.5) | .15 | 782 (11.9) | 944 (11.1) | <.001 |
| 1 | 2788 (18.5) | 303 (14.4) | 1285 (19.6) | 1503 (17.6) | ||
| 2 | 2928 (19.4) | 340 (16.1) | 1342 (20.5) | 1586 (18.6) | ||
| ≥3 | 7629 (50.6) | 1309 (62.0) | 3138 (47.9) | 4491 (52.7) | ||
a
P value from χ2 test.
b
Includes sedative, hallucinogen, inhalant, and/or other psychoactive substance.
c
Includes bipolar disorder, psychosis, and/or schizophrenia.