The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Substance Use Treatment Services

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are witnessing profound societal and health system developments with significant implications for the treatment of drug use disorders: an increase in drug use, people of color at disproportionate risk for distress and drug use, and a potentially transformational move to virtual treatment modalities.  The proposed study examines this major shift to virtual treatment for drug use disorders during the pandemic in a large, diverse health care system, specifically exploring potential disparities in accessing treatment. Virtual treatment is likely to persist as a major delivery model of alcohol treatment, and understanding potential inequities in access is critical to improving quality of care and outcomes for underserved populations.