A 680,000-person megastudy of nudges to encourage vaccination in pharmacies.

Encouraging vaccination is a pressing policy problem. To assess whether text-based reminders can encourage pharmacy vaccination and what kinds of messages work best, we conducted a megastudy. We randomly assigned 689,693 Walmart pharmacy patients to receive one of 22 different text reminders using a variety of different behavioral science principles to nudge flu vaccination or to a business-as-usual control condition that received no messages. We found that the reminder texts that we tested increased pharmacy vaccination rates by an average of 2.0 percentage points, or 6.8%, over a 3-mo follow-up period. The most-effective messages reminded patients that a flu shot was waiting for them and delivered reminders on multiple days. The top-performing intervention included two texts delivered 3 d apart and communicated to patients that a vaccine was "waiting for you." Neither experts nor lay people anticipated that this would be the best-performing treatment, underscoring the value of simultaneously testing many different nudges in a highly powered megastudy.

Association between patient-reported onset-to-door time and mortality in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 disease.

INTRODUCTION: Timely hospital presentation and treatment are critical for recovery from coronavirus disease (COVID-19). However, the relationship between symptom onset-to-door time and key clinical outcomes, such as inpatient mortality, has been poorly understood due to the difficulty of retrospectively measuring symptom onset in observational data. This study examines the association between patient-reported symptom onset-to-door time (ODT) and mortality among patients hospitalized and treated for COVID-19 disease. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of emergency department (ED) encounters of patients with COVID-19 disease who were hospitalized and received remdesivir and/or dexamethasone between March 1, 2020, and March 1, 2022. The exposure was patient-reported ODT in days. The outcome of interest was inpatient mortality, including referral to hospice care. We used multivariable logistic regression to examine the association between ODT and mortality while adjusting for patient characteristics, hospital sites, and seasonality. We tested whether severe illness on hospital presentation modified the association between ODT and mortality. Severe illness was defined by Emergency Severity Index triage level 1 or 2 and hypoxia (SpO2 < 94%). RESULTS: Of the 3451 ED hospitalizations included, 439 (12.7%) resulted in mortality, and 1693 (49.1%) involved patients with severe illness on hospital presentation. Greater ODT was significantly associated with lower odds of inpatient mortality (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.93-1.00, P = 0.023). There was a statistically significant interaction between ODT and severe illness at hospital arrival on mortality, suggesting the negative association between ODT and mortality specifically pertained to patients who were not severely ill upon ED presentation (AOR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.87-1.00, P = 0.035). The adjusted probability of mortality was significantly lower for non-severely ill, hospitalized patients who presented on days 8-14 (5.2%-3.3%) versus days 0-3 (9.4%-7.5%) after symptom onset. CONCLUSION: More days between symptom onset and hospital arrival were associated with lower mortality among hospitalized patients treated for COVID-19 disease, particularly if they did not have severe illness at ED presentation. However, onset-to-door time was not associated with mortality among hospitalized patients with severe illness at ED presentation. Collectively, these results suggest that non-severely ill COVID-19 patients who require hospitalization are less likely to decompensate with each passing day without severe illness. These findings may continue to guide clinical care delivery for hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

A megastudy of text-based nudges encouraging patients to get vaccinated at an upcoming doctor's appointment.

Many Americans fail to get life-saving vaccines each year, and the availability of a vaccine for COVID-19 makes the challenge of encouraging vaccination more urgent than ever. We present a large field experiment (N = 47,306) testing 19 nudges delivered to patients via text message and designed to boost adoption of the influenza vaccine. Our findings suggest that text messages sent prior to a primary care visit can boost vaccination rates by an average of 5%. Overall, interventions performed better when they were 1) framed as reminders to get flu shots that were already reserved for the patient and 2) congruent with the sort of communications patients expected to receive from their healthcare provider (i.e., not surprising, casual, or interactive). The best-performing intervention in our study reminded patients twice to get their flu shot at their upcoming doctor's appointment and indicated it was reserved for them. This successful script could be used as a template for campaigns to encourage the adoption of life-saving vaccines, including against COVID-19.

Durability of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Messenger RNA Booster Vaccine Protection Against Omicron Among Healthcare Workers With a Vaccine Mandate.

BACKGROUND: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant has spread rapidly throughout the world since being identified in South Africa in November 2021. Few studies have assessed primary series and booster vaccine effectiveness against Omicron among US healthcare workers. METHODS: We conducted a test-negative case-control design to estimate BNT162b2 and mRNA1273 primary vaccination and booster effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection and symptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 during an Omicron surge among employees of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. The study period was between 1 July 2021 and 5 April 2022. We defined the Delta period as 1 July to 12 December 2021 and the Omicron period as beginning 12 December 21. RESULTS: Our sample included 14 520 tests (2776 [19%] positive)-7422 (506 [7%] positive) during Delta and 7098 (2270 [32%] positive) during Omicron. Benchmarked against Delta, the vaccine effectiveness of 2 vaccine doses was lower during Omicron, with no significant protection against infection. Booster doses added significant protection, although they also showed reduced effectiveness during Omicron. Compared with findings in employees who had received 2 vaccine doses, 3 doses of BNT162b2 had a relative effectiveness of 50% (95% confidence interval, 42%-56%) during Omicron, relative to 78% (63%-87%) during Delta; 3 doses of mRNA1273 had a relative effectiveness of 56% (45%-65%) during Omicron, relative to 96% (82%-99%) during Delta. Restricting the sample to symptomatic tests yielded similar results to our primary analysis. After initial waning in BNT162b2 booster protection against infection, it remained largely stable for ≥16 weeks after vaccination. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide a strong rationale for boosters among healthcare workers in the Omicron era.

Patient and clinician perspectives of a remote monitoring program for COVID-19 and lessons for future programs.

COVID Watch is a remote patient monitoring program implemented during the pandemic to support home dwelling patients with COVID-19. The program conferred a large survival advantage. We conducted semi-structured interviews of 85 patients and clinicians using COVID Watch to understand how to design such programs even better. Patients and clinicians found COVID Watch to be comforting and beneficial, but both groups desired more clarity about the purpose and timing of enrollment and alternatives to text-messages to adapt to patients' preferences as these may have limited engagement and enrollment among marginalized patient populations. Because inclusiveness and equity are important elements of programmatic success, future programs will need flexible and multi-channel human-to-human communication pathways for complex clinical interactions or for patients who do not desire tech-first approaches.

Comparative Effectiveness of an Automated Text Messaging Service for Monitoring COVID-19 at Home.

BACKGROUND: Although most patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection can be safely managed at home, the need for hospitalization can arise suddenly. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether enrollment in an automated remote monitoring service for community-dwelling adults with COVID-19 at home ("COVID Watch") was associated with improved mortality. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort analysis. SETTING: Mid-Atlantic academic health system in the United States. PARTICIPANTS: Outpatients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 between 23 March and 30 November 2020. INTERVENTION: The COVID Watch service consists of twice-daily, automated text message check-ins with an option to report worsening symptoms at any time. All escalations were managed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by dedicated telemedicine clinicians. MEASUREMENTS: Thirty- and 60-day outcomes of patients enrolled in COVID Watch were compared with those of patients who were eligible to enroll but received usual care. The primary outcome was death at 30 days. Secondary outcomes included emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations. Treatment effects were estimated with propensity score-weighted risk adjustment models. RESULTS: A total of 3488 patients enrolled in COVID Watch and 4377 usual care control participants were compared with propensity score weighted models. At 30 days, COVID Watch patients had an odds ratio for death of 0.32 (95% CI, 0.12 to 0.72), with 1.8 fewer deaths per 1000 patients (CI, 0.5 to 3.1) (P = 0.005); at 60 days, the difference was 2.5 fewer deaths per 1000 patients (CI, 0.9 to 4.0) (P = 0.002). Patients in COVID Watch had more telemedicine encounters, ED visits, and hospitalizations and presented to the ED sooner (mean, 1.9 days sooner [CI, 0.9 to 2.9 days]; all P < 0.001). LIMITATION: Observational study with the potential for unobserved confounding. CONCLUSION: Enrollment of outpatients with COVID-19 in an automated remote monitoring service was associated with reduced mortality, potentially explained by more frequent telemedicine encounters and more frequent and earlier presentation to the ED. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.

Sustained Implementation of a Multicomponent Strategy to Increase Emergency Department-Initiated Interventions for Opioid Use Disorder.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: There is strong evidence supporting emergency department (ED)-initiated buprenorphine for opioid use disorder, but less is known about how to implement this practice. Our aim was to describe implementation, maintenance, and provider adoption of a multicomponent strategy for opioid use disorder treatment in 3 urban, academic EDs. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of electronic health record data for adult patients with opioid use disorder-related visits before (March 2017 to November 2018) and after (December 2018 to July 2020) implementation. We describe patient characteristics, clinical treatment, and process measures over time and conducted an interrupted time series analysis using a patient-level multivariable logistic regression model to assess the association of the interventions with buprenorphine use and other outcomes. Finally, we report provider-level variation in prescribing after implementation. RESULTS: There were 2,665 opioid use disorder-related visits during the study period: 28% for overdose, 8% for withdrawal, and 64% for other conditions. Thirteen percent of patients received medications for opioid use disorder during or after their ED visit overall. Following intervention implementation, there were sustained increases in treatment and process measures, with a net increase in total buprenorphine of 20% in the postperiod (95% confidence interval 16% to 23%). In the adjusted patient-level model, there was an immediate increase in the probability of buprenorphine treatment of 24.5% (95% confidence interval 12.1% to 37.0%) with intervention implementation. Seventy percent of providers wrote at least 1 buprenorphine prescription, but provider-level buprenorphine prescribing ranged from 0% to 61% of opioid use disorder-related encounters. CONCLUSION: A combination of strategies to increase ED-initiated opioid use disorder treatment was associated with sustained increases in treatment and process measures. However, adoption varied widely among providers, suggesting that additional strategies are needed for broader uptake.

Prospective Implementation of a Consultative Store-and-Forward Teledermatology Model at a Single Urban Academic Health System with Real Cost Data Subanalysis.

Background: Teledermatology may increase access to care but has not been widely implemented due, in part, to lack of insurance coverage and reimbursement. We assessed the impact of implementing a consultative store-and-forward teledermatology model on access to care, medical cost, and utilization. Materials and Methods: Prospective implementation of teledermatology occurred at five University of Pennsylvania Health System primary care practices from June 27, 2016, to May 25, 2017. Primary outcomes included time to case completion, proportion of patients completing in-person dermatology visits, and total outpatient costs. Medical and pharmacy claims data were used for utilization and cost subanalysis. Results: The study included 167 patients and 1,962 controls with a 6-month follow-up. Median time to definitive dermatologist response was 0.19 days (interquartile range [IQR]: 0.03-2.92) for intervention and 83.60 days (IQR: 19.74-159.73) for controls. In medical claims subanalysis, no significant differences in mean outpatient costs ($3,366 vs. $2,232, p = 0.1356) or total medical costs ($3,535 vs. $2,654, p = 0.2899) were detected. Conclusions: Implementation of teledermatology improved access to care, and within this small sample, remained comparable in terms of cost and utilization. Thus, these data suggest teledermatology may improve access without increasing utilization or cost.

Exposure to Intravenous Opioids Is Associated With Future Exposure to Opioids in Hospitalized Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Opioid use is associated with increased mortality in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Hospitalized patients with IBD often receive high-potency intravenous opioids (IVOPIs). It is not known whether exposure to IVOPIs affects post-discharge opioid use or complications. We investigated the association between inpatient administration of IVOPIs and a post-discharge opioid prescription (OPIRx) in patients with IBD. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study of 862 adults with IBD hospitalized at a large urban academic health system from March 1, 2017 through April 10, 2018. We collected clinical data from the electronic health records and used multivariable mixed-effect logistic regression to assess the association between inpatient opioid exposure and OPIRx-within 12 months while adjusting for confounders. IV and non-IVOPI exposures were evaluated as binary variables. IVOPI exposure was also evaluated as a continuous variable in IV morphine mg equivalents/length of stay (IVMMEs/day). RESULTS: Multivariable mixed-effect logistic regression demonstrated a significant association between IVOPIs and OPIRx (IV vs no IVOPIs odds ratio [OR], 3.3; 95% CI, 1.7-6.4 and IVMMEs/day OR, 1.1; 95% CI, 1.0-1.1). Subgroup analysis of patients with IBD flares (n = 621) identified a significant association between IVOPIs and OPIRx (IV vs no IVOPIs OR, 5.4; 95% CI, 2.6-11.0). Among patients who did not receive IVOPIs, there was a significant association between oral/transdermal opioids and OPIRx (non-IVOPIs vs no opioids OR, 4.2; 95% CI, 1.0-16.8). CONCLUSIONS: Inpatient IV and non-IV opioid use are associated with post-discharge opioid exposure in patients with IBD, with a dose-dependent effect. Alternative analgesics should be considered for hospitalized patients with IBD, to minimize risk of future opioid use.

A Multimodal Intervention Using Nonopioid Analgesics Is Associated With Reduced Intravenous Opioid Exposure Among Hospitalized Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.

INTRODUCTION: Opioid use in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is associated with increased mortality. Previous interventions targeting reduced intravenous opioid (IVOPI) exposure for all patients admitted to a general medical unit have decreased total opioid use without compromising pain control. We therefore performed a prospective evaluation of a multimodal intervention encouraging the use of nonopioid alternatives to reduce IVOPI exposure among patients with IBD hospitalized at our institution. METHODS: This was a prospective evaluation of a multimodal intervention to reduce IVOPI use among patients with IBD aged ≥18 years admitted to a general medical unit at a large urban academic medical center from January 1, 2019, to June 30, 2019. Intravenous and total (all routes) opioid exposures were measured as proportions and intravenous morphine milligram equivalents/patient day and compared with preintervention (January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2018) data. Hospital length of stay (LOS), 30-day readmission rates (RRs), and pain scores (1-10 scale) were also assessed. RESULTS: Our study involved 345 patients with IBD with similar baseline characteristics in preintervention (n = 241) and intervention (n = 104) periods. Between study periods, we observed a significant reduction in the proportion of patients receiving IVOPIs (43.6% vs 30.8%, P = 0.03) and total opioid dose exposure (15.6 vs 8.5 intravenous morphine mg equivalents/d, P = 0.02). We observed similar mean pain scores (3.9 vs 3.7, P = 0.55) and significantly reduced mean LOS (7.2 vs 5.3 days, P = 0.03) and 30-day RRs (21.6% vs 11.5%, P = 0.03). DISCUSSION: A multimodal intervention was associated with reduced opioid exposure, LOS, and 30-day RRs for hospitalized patients with IBD. Additional research is needed to determine long-term benefits of reduced opioid exposure in this population.

Remote Blood Pressure Monitoring With Social Support for Patients With Hypertension: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Hypertension management has traditionally been based on office visits. Integrating remote monitoring into routine clinical practices and leveraging social support might improve blood pressure (BP) control. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a bidirectional text monitoring program focused on BP control and medication adherence with and without social support in adults with hypertension. Design, Setting, and Participants: This randomized clinical trial included adults aged 18 to 75 treated at an academic family medicine practice in Philadelphia in 2018 and 2019. Patients had been seen at least twice in the prior 24 months and had at least 2 elevated BP measurements (>150/90 mm Hg or >140/90 mm Hg for patients aged 18-59 years or with diabetes or chronic kidney disease) during visits. All participants had a cell phone with text messaging, offered at least 1 support partner, and were taking maintenance medications to treat hypertension. Patients were randomized 2:2:1 to remote monitoring of BP and medication adherence (RM), remote monitoring of BP and medication adherence with feedback provided to a social support partner (SS), or usual care (UC). Data were analyzed on an intention-to-treat basis between October 14, 2019, and May 30, 2020, and were revisited from May 23 through June 2, 2023. Interventions: The RM and SS groups received an automatic home BP monitor, 3 weekly texts requesting BP measurements, 1 weekly text inquiring about medication adherence, and a weekly text with feedback. In the SS arm, support partners received a weekly progress report. The UC group received UC through their primary care practice. Clinicians caring for the patients in the intervention groups received nudges via electronic health records to adjust medications when 3 of 10 reported BP measurements were elevated. Patients were followed up for 4 months. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was systolic BP at 4 months measured during the final follow-up visit. Secondary outcomes included achievement of normotension and diastolic BP. Results: In all, 246 patients (mean [SD] age, 50.9 [11.4] years; 175 females [71.1%]; 223 Black individuals [90.7%] and 13 White individuals [5.3%]) were included in the intention-to-treat analysis: 100 patients in the RM arm, 97 in the SS arm, and 49 in the UC arm. Compared with the UC arm, there was no significant difference in systolic or diastolic BP at the 4-month follow-up visit in the RM arm (systolic BP adjusted mean difference, -5.25 [95% CI, -10.65 to 0.15] mm Hg; diastolic BP adjusted mean difference, -1.94 [95% CI, -5.14 to 1.27] mm Hg) or the SS arm (systolic BP adjusted mean difference, -0.91 [95% CI, -6.37 to 4.55] mm Hg; diastolic BP adjusted mean difference, -0.63 [95% CI, -3.77 to 2.51] mm Hg). Of the 206 patients with a final BP measurement at 4 months, BP was controlled in 49% (41 of 84) of patients in the RM arm, 31% (27 of 87) of patients in the SS arm, and 40% (14 of 35) of patients in the UC arm; these rates did not differ significantly between the intervention arms and the UC group. Conclusions and Relevance: In this randomized clinical trial, neither remote BP monitoring nor remote BP monitoring with social support improved BP control compared with UC in adults with hypertension. Additional efforts are needed to examine whether interventions directed at helping patients remember to take their BP medications can lead to improved BP control. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03416283.

Behavioral Interventions to Improve Breast Cancer Screening Outreach: Two Randomized Clinical Trials.

Importance: Despite public health efforts, breast cancer screening rates remain below national goals. Objective: To evaluate whether bulk ordering, text messaging, and clinician endorsement increase breast cancer screening rates. Design, Setting, and Participants: Two concurrent, pragmatic, randomized clinical trials, each with a 2-by-2 factorial design, were conducted between October 25, 2021, and April 25, 2022, in 2 primary care regions of an academic health system. The trials included women aged 40 to 74 years with at least 1 primary care visit in the past 2 years who were eligible for breast cancer screening. Interventions: Patients in trial A were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive a signed bulk order for mammogram or no order; in a factorial design, patients were concurrently randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive or not receive text message reminders. Patients in trial B were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive a message signed by their primary care clinician (clinician endorsement) or from the organization (standard messaging); in a factorial design, patients were concurrently randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive or not receive text message reminders. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was the proportion of patients who completed a screening mammogram within 3 months. Results: Among 24 632 patients included, the mean (SD) age was 60.4 (7.5) years. In trial A, at 3 months, 15.4% (95% CI, 14.6%-16.1%) of patients in the bulk order arm and 12.7% (95% CI, 12.1%-13.4%) in the no order arm completed a mammogram, showing a significant increase (absolute difference, 2.7%; 95% CI, 1.6%-3.6%; P < .001). In the text messaging comparison arms, 15.1% (95% CI, 14.3%-15.8%) of patients receiving a text message completed a mammogram compared with 13.0% (95% CI, 12.4%-13.7%) of those in the no text messaging arm, a significant increase (absolute difference of 2.1%; 95% CI, 1.0%-3.0%; P < .001). In trial B, at 3 months, 12.5% (95% CI, 11.3%-13.7%) of patients in the clinician endorsement arm completed a mammogram compared with 11.4% (95% CI, 10.3%-12.5%) of those in the standard messaging arm, which was not significant (absolute difference, 1.1%; 95% CI, -0.5% to 2.7%; P = .18). In the text messaging comparison arms, 13.2% (95% CI, 12.0%-14.4%) of patients receiving a text message completed a mammogram compared with 10.7% (95% CI, 9.7%-11.8%) of those in the no text messaging arm, a significant increase (absolute difference, 2.5%; 95% CI, 0.8%-4.0%; P = .003). Conclusions and Relevance: These findings show that text messaging women after initial breast cancer screening outreach via either electronic portal or mailings, as well as bulk ordering with or without text messaging, can increase mammogram completion rates. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05089903.

A randomized trial of mailed outreach with behavioral economic interventions to improve liver cancer surveillance.

BACKGROUND: Surveillance rates for HCC remain limited in patients with cirrhosis. We evaluated whether opt-out mailed outreach increased uptake with or without a $20 unconditional incentive. METHODS: This was a pragmatic randomized controlled trial in an urban academic health system including adult patients with cirrhosis or advanced fibrosis, at least 1 visit to a specialty practice in the past 2 years and no surveillance in the last 7 months. Patients were randomized in a 1:2:2 ratio to (1) usual care, (2) a mailed letter with a signed order for an ultrasound, or (3) a mailed letter with an order and a $20 unconditional incentive. The main outcome was the proportion with completion of ultrasound within 6 months. RESULTS: Among the 562 patients included, the mean age was 62.1 (SD 11.1); 56.8% were male, 51.1% had Medicare, and 40.6% were Black. At 6 months, 27.6% (95% CI: 19.5-35.7) completed ultrasound in the Usual care arm, 54.5% (95% CI: 47.9-61.0) in the Letter + Order arm, and 54.1% (95% CI: 47.5-60.6) in the Letter + Order + Incentive arm. There was a significant increase in the Letter + Order arm compared to Usual care (absolute difference of 26.9%; 95% CI: 16.5-37.3; p<0.001), but no significant increase in the Letter + Order + Incentive arm compared to Letter + Order (absolute difference of -0.4; 95% CI: -9.7 to 8.8; p=0.93). CONCLUSIONS: There was an increase in HCC surveillance from mailed outreach with opt-out framing and a signed order slip, but no increase in response to the financial incentive.

Hospital Discharge on Enteral Nutrition is Associated with Increased Hospital Readmissions.

Background: Enteral nutrition (EN) delivered via an enteric access device is employed to correct severe malnutrition and feed patients with pathology restricting oral intake, and is often initiated in the hospital. There are limited data on the clinical outcomes of patients discharged from the hospital on EN. We sought to assess whether discharge with enteral nutrition (DCEN) was independently associated with increased hospital readmissions and to assess the frequency of DCEN in our hospital.Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all hospital discharges from a tertiary care hospital between 7/2017 and 12/2019. The primary and secondary outcomes were 30- and 90-day readmissions respectively. We evaluated demographic and clinical characteristics of patients, nutrition status, and readmissions as reported in the electronic health record per hospital encounter. Logistic regressions were performed for 30- and 90-day readmissions based on DCEN.Results: Of 80,080 hospital encounters, 2527 (3.2%) encounters resulted in discharge with EN. 30-day readmissions occurred in 22.8% of encounters with DCEN and 12.5% of encounters without (p < 0.001). 90-day readmissions occurred in 35.1% and 20.4% of encounters with and without DCEN respectively (p < 0.001). The unadjusted odds ratio for 30-day readmissions for encounters with DCEN was 2.07 (CI 1.88-2.28). When adjusted for age, race, sex, Charlson Comorbidity Index, and malnutrition co-diagnosis, the odds ratio was 1.40 (CI 1.27-1.55).Conclusions: Patients with DCEN have a significantly higher likelihood of 30- and 90-day readmission. Targeted interventions and improved post-discharge care for this identified high-risk population may decrease hospital readmissions.[Box: see text].

Association of Urine Fentanyl Concentration With Severity of Opioid Withdrawal Among Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Fentanyl is involved in most US drug overdose deaths and its use can complicate opioid withdrawal management. Clinical applications of quantitative urine fentanyl testing have not been demonstrated previously. The aim of this study was to determine whether urine fentanyl concentration is associated with severity of opioid withdrawal. DESIGN: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study. SETTING: This study was conducted in 3 emergency departments in an urban, academic health system from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021. PARTICIPANTS: This study included patients with opioid use disorder, detectable urine fentanyl or norfentanyl, and Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale (COWS) recorded within 6 hours of urine drug testing. MEASUREMENTS: The primary exposure was urine fentanyl concentration stratified as high (>400 ng/mL), medium (40-399 ng/mL), or low (<40 ng/mL). The primary outcome was opioid withdrawal severity measured with COWS within 6 hours before or after urine specimen collection. We used a generalized linear model with γ distribution and log-link function to estimate the adjusted association between COWS and the exposures. FINDINGS: For the 1127 patients in our sample, the mean age (SD) was 40.0 (10.7), 384 (34.1%) identified as female, 332 (29.5%) reported their race/ethnicity as non-Hispanic Black, and 658 (58.4%) reported their race/ethnicity as non-Hispanic White. For patients with high urine fentanyl concentrations, the adjusted mean COWS (95% confidence interval) was 4.4 (3.9-4.8) compared with 5.5 (5.1-6.0) among those with medium and 7.7 (6.8-8.7) among those with low fentanyl concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: Lower urine fentanyl concentration was associated with more severe opioid withdrawal, suggesting potential clinical applications for quantitative urine measurements in evolving approaches to fentanyl withdrawal management.

Economics of a health system's direct-to-consumer telemedicine for its employees.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the mean per-episode unit cost for a direct-to-consumer (DTC) telemedicine service for medical center employees (OnDemand) with that of in-person care and to estimate whether the offered service increased the use of care. STUDY DESIGN: Propensity score-matched retrospective cohort study of adult employees and dependents of a large academic health system between July 7, 2017, and December 31, 2019. METHODS: To estimate differences in per-episode unit costs within 7 days, we compared costs between OnDemand encounters and conventional in-person encounters (primary care, urgent care, and emergency department) for any similar condition using a generalized linear model. We used interrupted time series analyses limited to the top 10 clinical conditions managed by OnDemand to estimate the effect of OnDemand's availability on the trends for overall employee per-month encounters. RESULTS: A total of 10,826 encounters among 7793 beneficiaries were included (mean [SD] age, 38.5 [10.9] years; 81.6% were women). The mean (SE) 7-day per-episode cost among employees and beneficiaries was lower for OnDemand encounters at $379.76 ($19.83) relative to non-OnDemand encounters at $493.49 ($25.53), a mean per-episode savings of $113.73 (95% CI, $50.36-$177.10; P < .001). After the introduction of OnDemand, among employees with encounters for the top 10 clinical conditions managed by OnDemand, the trend for encounter rates per 100 employees per month increased marginally (0.03; 95% CI, 0.00-0.05; P = .03). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that DTC telemedicine staffed by an academic health system and offered directly to employees reduced the per-episode unit costs and only marginally increased utilization, suggesting lower cost overall.