Currently, the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2019 has infected almost 4 million people worldwide and killed nearly 270,000 (including more than 73,000 in the U.S. alone). The global pandemic has hit the US hard and to make matters worse, is overlaid on the existing opioid U.S. epidemic which claimed an average of over 69,000 lives per year in 2017 and 2018
(CDC) . The nature of COVID-19 and the response to it have placed patients legitimately seeking opioid therapy treatment and those with opioid use disorder at increased risks for suffering the worst effects of opioid misuse. “Two great epidemics of our generation are intersecting in ways that are additively deadly” according to Peter Grinspoon, MD (Harvard Health).
COVID-19: The Catalyst Event to Largescale Telehealth Utilization and Adoption
COVID-19 will “forever change the way consumers seek and receive healthcare. While the pandemic will prove the value of virtual care in a crisis, it will also demonstrate the effectiveness of ongoing chronic care management. This moment will have a lasting effect on the adoption of virtual care and accelerate the shift from in-person care to virtual first engagement for multiple conditions and use cases.” (Arielle Trzcinski, Forrester). Amidst the pandemic, U.S. Telehealth visits are on pace to top 1 billion by the end of 2020, which would be a 25-fold increase over the 2019 number
Paradigm Shift to Telehealth
“Stakeholders generally agree that telehealth can bring
medical care into communities with limited access to
medical providers, reduce wait times for patients, and
be more convenient than traveling to a provider’s office
in both rural and urban areas. It appears telehealth
could play an important role in achieving goals
associated with value-based models by providing
clinically indicated, high quality, “anytime, anywhere”
care.” (Information on Medicare Telehealth, CMS 2018).
With cost-saving benefits and more flexibility for
patients and providers, healthcare companies have good
reason to invest in telehealth. Patients are starting to get
onboard with these programs as well. The number of
global telehealth patients continue to rise year after
year, reaching over 7 million in 2018. A new report
shows that 74% of U.S. consumers would be open to
using telemedicine services and 76% prioritize having
access to care over the need for human interaction with
care providers
spike to over 1 billion based on data gathered in April and May
(Source Forrester Analytics). Telehealth visits in 2019 were
estimated to be 36 million.
Drug Testing is the Technology of Addiction Medicine, it is vastly underutilized, both in terms of prevention and treatment. – Robert Dupont, M.D. The mass adoption of Telehealth is establishing a new norm of patient-centric healthcare delivery. As an addiction treatment and behavioral healthcare providers are pushed to adapt to telehealth patient-centric delivery models, Urine Drug Testing at a Distance will become a vital diagnostic to monitor patients. Introducing Truth™ by Genotox Laboratories. The New Gold Standard of Urine Drug Testing. Truth™ is the only At Home Urine Drug Testing solution utilizing DNA-authentication technology to ensure the identity and integrity of urine samples.
• Conveniently & Safely performed at home
• Authenticates the sample to the donor
• Identifies real human urine and synthetic urine sample substitution
• Identifies pill scraping, dilution, and oxidizer adulteration
• Eliminates the timing of substance use around the urine drug test schedule by randomizing the test schedule
• Tests 110 drugs of abuse, medications, and metabolites
• Detection windows of 3-7 days or longer for certain substances
• Result within 48 hours
• Easy logistics and fulfillment – testing kits sent directly to the patient
capabilities and eliminates one of the biggest challenges to
date, the timing of the drug test.”
“With ToxDirect™ we can ensure an excellent level of
accountability compared to any other drug testing solution.”
“Every compliant drug test produces rewards for all
involved.
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