Rural communities opioid response program - medication assisted treatment access - workit health will establish telehealth mat access points to support individuals experiencing OUD and AUD in targeted…

Rural communities opioid response program - medication assisted treatment access - workit health will establish telehealth mat access points to support individuals experiencing OUD and AUD in targeted rural service areas of ashland county, ohio in year 1, and platte county, nebraska and cerro gordo county, iowa in years 2-3. The project will expand and tailor workit health's telehealth mat and behavioral health counseling program-specifically to provide a set of services that better align to the unique and culturally-specific needs of individuals living in the targeted rural service areas. Through marketing, outreach, and an extensive community network, the project will ensure that traditionally underserved populations are reached, including individuals currently without insurance, individuals who face transportation or other obstacles to physically reaching services, as well as adolescents and maternity patients and individuals from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds in the targeted communities. Due to the virtual nature of workit health, there is a unique opportunity to also ensure that patients who face privacy impediments receive care, with research pointing to health privacy as a growing need for rural patients, and for rural adolescents in particular. Over the course of the three-year project, workit will reach at least 300 unduplicated individuals with OUD or AUD across the three service areas (at least 80 individuals in year 1, 100 in year 2, and 120 in year 3). Patients will have access to video-based medical provider and counseling sessions, self-paced cognitive behavioral therapy courses, 24/7 access to chat messaging with clinical staff, virtual drug testing services, and their choice of a local pharmacy or at-home medication shipping for OUD and AUD medications. Based on intake screening and ongoing connection diagnostics, individuals facing bandwidth or technology hurdles in accessing workit's services will be connected via a high touch support specialist to triage connection challenges and needs. The INT egrated mat and behavioral health services will be supported by the implementation of a culturally-relevant professional learning model for clinical staff, enhanced claims and insurance enrollment systems, and a robust partner network spanning the SUD continuum of care. By year three, the project will result in a sustainable, tested model for scaling OUD and AUD services to additional rural designated areas post grant, as well as research findings on the potential of telehealth innovations in supporting treatment adherence for rural communities, and for adolescents and maternity patients in particular.