{"id":13496,"date":"2024-12-30T19:24:38","date_gmt":"2024-12-30T19:24:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/?p=13496"},"modified":"2024-12-30T19:25:41","modified_gmt":"2024-12-30T19:25:41","slug":"smartphone-app-reduces-opioid-use-boosts-treatment-duration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/smartphone-app-reduces-opioid-use-boosts-treatment-duration\/","title":{"rendered":"Smartphone App Reduces Opioid Use, Boosts Treatment Duration"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-blockquote uagb-block-e7eb3fc3 uagb-blockquote__skin-border uagb-blockquote__stack-img-none\"><blockquote class=\"uagb-blockquote\"><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__content\">A study by UT Health San Antonio reveals that combining medication for opioid use disorder with a smartphone app reduces opioid use by 35% and lengthens treatment by nearly 19%, offering a promising new tool for recovery.<\/div><footer><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__author-wrap uagb-blockquote__author-at-left\"><\/div><\/footer><\/blockquote><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-space-between is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0dfbf163 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div style=\"font-size:16px;\" class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-post-author\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__name\">The University Network<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share uagb-social-share__outer-wrap uagb-social-share__layout-horizontal uagb-block-ee584a31\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-ec619ce7\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"facebook\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M504 256C504 119 393 8 256 8S8 119 8 256c0 123.8 90.69 226.4 209.3 245V327.7h-63V256h63v-54.64c0-62.15 37-96.48 93.67-96.48 27.14 0 55.52 4.84 55.52 4.84v61h-31.28c-30.8 0-40.41 19.12-40.41 38.73V256h68.78l-11 71.69h-57.78V501C413.3 482.4 504 379.8 504 256z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-32d99934\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"twitter\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M389.2 48h70.6L305.6 224.2 487 464H345L233.7 318.6 106.5 464H35.8L200.7 275.5 26.8 48H172.4L272.9 180.9 389.2 48zM364.4 421.8h39.1L151.1 88h-42L364.4 421.8z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-1d136f14\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"linkedin\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M416 32H31.9C14.3 32 0 46.5 0 64.3v383.4C0 465.5 14.3 480 31.9 480H416c17.6 0 32-14.5 32-32.3V64.3c0-17.8-14.4-32.3-32-32.3zM135.4 416H69V202.2h66.5V416zm-33.2-243c-21.3 0-38.5-17.3-38.5-38.5S80.9 96 102.2 96c21.2 0 38.5 17.3 38.5 38.5 0 21.3-17.2 38.5-38.5 38.5zm282.1 243h-66.4V312c0-24.8-.5-56.7-34.5-56.7-34.6 0-39.9 27-39.9 54.9V416h-66.4V202.2h63.7v29.2h.9c8.9-16.8 30.6-34.5 62.9-34.5 67.2 0 79.7 44.3 79.7 101.9V416z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Patients with opioid use disorder can greatly benefit from a smartphone app that support srecovery and extends treatment duration, according to a new study by The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The robust research revealed that patients who used the app alongside medication saw a significant 35% drop in opioid use days and stayed in treatment nearly 19% longer than those relying solely on medication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese findings suggest that augmenting medication for opioid use disorder with app-based contingency management may provide clinical benefits for underserved patients,\u201d lead author Elise Marino, Ph.D., the director of research operations at UT Health San Antonio\u2019s Be Well Institute on Substance Use and Related Disorders, said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/news.uthscsa.edu\/smartphone-app-can-help-reduce-opioid-use-and-keep-patients-in-treatment-ut-health-san-antonio-study-shows\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">news release<\/a>. \u201cExpanding the availability of app-based contingency management may contribute to decreasing the immense societal, economic and personal burden of opioid use.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The study, <a href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jamanetworkopen\/fullarticle\/2827185\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">published<\/a> in JAMA Network Open, involved 600 underserved patients in a retrospective cohort analysis, tracking the impact of integrating the WEconnect Health CM smartphone app with medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) from November 2020 to November 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The app not only incentivizes patients to achieve substance-related recovery milestones through financial rewards but also supports broader wellness goals, such as attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings, exercising or engaging in personal hobbies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, it fosters community support with 1-to-1 peer interactions and remote meetings led by certified peers \u2014 making the digital therapy accessible beyond standard clinic times and locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The study underscores the persistent national crisis of opioid use disorder, which imposes an annual cost of nearly $969 billion in the United States. Medication like methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone (MOUD) remains the sole evidence-backed treatment but often needs augmentation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Contingency management (CM) offered in clinical settings has proven beneficial; however, barriers like infrequent in-person visits, exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, necessitate innovative solutions such as telehealth and apps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The cohort study reported marked improvements for app users\u2014those who augmented MOUD with the app experienced an average of 8.4 days of opioid use at treatment completion versus 12 days for those on medication alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Treatment retention averaged 290.2 days for app-enhanced therapy compared to 236.1 days for traditional MOUD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese results are promising, and they highlight the potential importance of a patient\u2019s decision to use app-based CM,\u201d the researchers concluded. \u201cDespite the challenges of engaging patients in other app-based interventions, adding recovery-oriented, app-based CM may be one way to enhance clinical care and meet the growing needs of historically underserved patients taking MOUD.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Patients with opioid use disorder can greatly benefit from a smartphone app that support srecovery and extends treatment duration, according to a new study by The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio). The robust research revealed that patients who used the app alongside medication saw a significant 35% [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-no-separators","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tech"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"The University Network","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/author\/funky_junkie\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Patients with opioid use disorder can greatly benefit from a smartphone app that support srecovery and extends treatment duration, according to a new study by The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio). The robust research revealed that patients who used the app alongside medication saw a significant 35%&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13496"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13496\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13514,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13496\/revisions\/13514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}