Talkspace Partnership
Earlier this month, Talkspace, the nation’s largest telemedicine-based therapy provider covered by insurance, and Bicycle Health, the nation’s largest telemedicine-based opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment program, announced plans for a partnership to expand their respective patients’ access to virtual care.
For Talkspace patients, this partnership increases access to OUD specialty care - specifically, medication for opioid use disorder treatment (MOUD), as well as therapists and recovery coaches who specialize in treatment of OUD. For Bicycle Health patients, this partnership increases access to therapists specializing in areas outside of substance use disorder, including marriage and family therapy, and asynchronous therapeutic chat.
Despite the 7.7 million Americans with co-occurring mental health conditions and substance use disorder, more than half receive treatment for neither. The need for therapy is high, but barriers to care – like stigma, access to licensed therapists, and affordability – prevent many people from getting treatment. Collaborations between telehealth-based providers centralizes access to care and makes treatment more accessible, convenient, and affordable.
Read up on the new partnership here.
Telehealth Key for Recidivism Disruption
Roughly 20% of adults in custody are struggling with OUD. It’s no wonder, given that untreated OUD often deteriorates to illicit opioid use and risk for incarceration.
Expanding access to telehealth-based treatment programs that include medications for OUD, like buprenorphine or Sublocade, to patients as they leave custody can upend this cycle of incarceration through seamlessly following patients wherever they go next.
Bicycle Health chief medical officer, Dr. Brian Clear, breaks down how telehealth treatment for people in custody is a major key to recidivism disruption.
Catch up on the full op-ed in MedCity News here.
Partnerships Make MOUDs More Accessible
Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUDs), including buprenorphine, save lives among people with opioid use disorder (OUD). Long-lasting injectable versions offer the same benefits and can help patients adhere to medication schedules.
Despite injectable buprenorphine’s benefits, a new study published in JAMA found that the class of drugs is only available at one-third of substance use treatment facilities.
While too few brick-and-mortar providers currently offer the drug, Bicycle Health partnered with retail giant Albertsons to make injectable buprenorphine Sublocade available at 700 pharmacies.
Nobody Left Behind
Ankit Gupta, Bicycle Health founder and CEO, discusses Bicycle Health's partnership with the Federal Bureau of Prisons to give individuals released from prison continued access to monthly injections of buprenorphine for opioid use disorder.
Watch the full video interview here.
“Legal” Opiates are Leading to OUD
Over the last year, Bicycle Health clinicians have seen a growing number of patients with poppy seed tea (PST) dependance, but are encouraged to report that these patients have had success with our treatment methods. We recently conducted a study to understand the impact of our treatment methods on these patients. The results were promising — see below.
At Bicycle Health, our treatment for OUD does not discriminate because OUD does not discriminate. As various forms of opioids enter the market and begin to cause dependance, we are committed to utilizing our treatment model for all patients to achieve long-term, stable recovery.
“Despite the fact that it’s completely legal and you can purchase [the seeds], it is dangerous to do it,” Dr. Scott Weiner, MD, MPH said. “It’s just like other opioids".
Check out the research here.
In the News
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Telehealth Works
"The opioid epidemic is the most acute and urgent public health crisis in America. Unfortunately, it can be extremely challenging for patients across the country to access affordable treatment that actually works. But in our work treating patients with opioid use disorder, we’ve seen first-hand that telemedicine can help people find long-term recovery."
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US Senators Stand Up for Telehealth
Lawmakers have reintroduced a bipartisan bill to make behavioral health delivered by telehealth more available to those on Medicare into Congress.
“We fought to expand telehealth access during the pandemic and the results demonstrated how critical a tool it is for countless Americans, especially for mental health services,” U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said in the release.
Previous Updates:
Bicycle Health and OUD Insights and News (Jan. 2024)
