Patients using a smartphone app combining behavioral therapy, peer support, and medication reduced opioid use by 35% compared to those treated with medication alone.

A smartphone app aids patients with opioid use disorder by reducing opioid use and helping them stay in treatment longer, offering a new approach to recovery.

The study by the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) in the US showed that those who chose to use the smartphone app – which combines contingency management behavioral therapy and recovery support from peers – and alongside medication, reduced their days of opioid use by 35 percent compared with those treated with medication only. Additionally, app users remained in treatment nearly 19 percent longer than those treated with medication alone, said the study published in JAMA Network Open.

The ‘WEconnect Health CM’ smartphone app delivers evidence-based contingency management (CM) embedded in a recovery-oriented framework.

Opioid Use Disorder Treatment

The study cohort included 600 individuals aged 18 years or older who were uninsured or underinsured. Those who chose to receive Medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) plus app-based CM reported a mean duration of 8.4 days of opioid use at the end of treatment compared with 12 days for those who chose to receive MOUD only.

Retention analysis showed that patients who chose to receive MOUD plus app-based CM stayed with their treatment for a mean duration of 290.2 days, compared with 236.1 days for those choosing to receive MOUD only.

“These results are promising, and they highlight the potential importance of a patient’s decision to use app-based CM,” the researchers said. “Expanding the availability of app-based contingency management may contribute to decreasing the immense societal, economic and personal burden of opioid use,” added Marino.

Source-IANS