Telehealth vs In-Person Evaluation of Addiction Treatment After Visiting the Emergency Department

Main study objective: compare long-term buprenorphine treatment outcomes for patients who start buprenorphine for opioid use disorder (OUD) in the emergency department and are then referred to get outpatient buprenorphine treatment either via telehealth or at an in-person clinic. Researchers will: Compare rates of establishing outpatient OUD treatment, how long patients stay on buprenorphine, and patients' experience with care to determine whether patient experiences and outcomes are better for patients referred to telehealth treatment versus patients patients referred to in-person treatment after they leave the emergency department. Participants will: Be recruited from 3 different hospital emergency departments. Answer questionnaires at baseline and then 1, 3, 6, and 9 months after their initial emergency department visit.

NCT Number	NCT06961058
Lead Sponsor	University of California, Davis Collaborators: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
Conditions	Opioid Use Disorder
Enrollment	528 participants
Start Date	2025-06-03
Primary Completion	2029-06-01 (estimated)
Study Completion	2029-09-01 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-06-29