Creation of a telehealth addiction consultation service at a rural hospital: a case study
Author Department
Emergency Medicine
Document Type
Article, Peer-reviewed
Publication Date
9-2025
Abstract
Background: Rural communities face significant barriers to accessing substance use disorder (SUD) treatment, resulting in gaps in care and increased rates of opioid-related overdose deaths. Hospital-based Addiction Consult Services (ACS) improve outcomes for patients with SUD, but rural hospitals often lack these services.
Case presentation: The Community Addiction Consult (CAC) service was established at a rural hospital in western Massachusetts to address this gap. CAC was designed by a community coalition comprised of a diverse cross-section of the community in which the hospital is based, using opioid-overdose data from the region to inform their decisions. Using a telehealth model, the CAC provided evidence-based treatments to support hospital staff treating patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) or requiring addiction-related care. From April 2023 through December 2023, the CAC provided 36 consults, facilitating increased access to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), and enhancing provider confidence in treating people who use drugs (PWUD) and initiating MOUD. An average of 22 patients received MOUD as inpatients monthly, and 11 emergency department patients received MOUD monthly. The CAC team also implemented training sessions, and an anti-stigma campaign to familiarize hospital staff with harm reduction principles and person-centered care strategies to foster a more supportive treatment environment for PWUD.
Conclusions: The Community Addiction Consult service demonstrates the feasibility and efficacy of a telehealth Addiction Consult Service model. Paired with staff trainings, such a model can bridge the gaps in rural addiction care. By leveraging local expertise and data-driven approaches, this model offers a scalable, equitable solution to improving access to substance use disorder treatment in rural settings.
Keywords: Addiction consult service; Medications for opioid use disorder; Opioid; Overdose; Rural.
Recommended Citation
Katz R, Fisher T, Singer-Clark T, Soares Iii W, Carpenter J, Schuessler N, Stadler H, Sahovey A, McAlearney AS, Samet JH, Chatterjee A. Creation of a telehealth addiction consultation service at a rural hospital: a case study. Addict Sci Clin Pract. 2025 Sep 26;20(1):76. doi: 10.1186/s13722-025-00596-5.
PMID
41013782