Coronavirus (COVID-19) has disrupted the substance use disorder (SUD) treatment system, demanding an abrupt shift from in-person care to telehealth services. The transition to virtual care could permanently change SUD treatment delivery. This shift is coinciding with COVID-19-induced social isolation and anxiety, which could increase substance use and mental health disorder severity.

A common refrain in the treatment and recovery field is that addiction is a disease of isolation; the cure is connection. To provide virtual treatment and the connection so essential to recovery, many SUD treatment centers are launching virtual services without a method for assessing how, where, and why virtual services are affecting their patients' quality of life and SUD recovery. The ACHESS smartphone app is currently being used at 40 Iowa treatment sites in the parent study, “Test of a patient-centered e-health intervention in addiction treatment settings.” ACHESS offers a guide and a method for assessing use of virtual services and an unprecedented research opportunity. From 3/3/20 to 3/20/20, sign-ups for ACHESS in the parent study increased by 67% compared to the two prior weeks. Activity on the ACHESS app has nearly doubled in the same period!

This supplement will address patient and organizational factors because of their integral roles in providing virtual care and adopting patient-centered technologies. The supplement will enhance ACHESS with new COVID-19 related features designed to help patients comply with social distancing guidelines, cope with unprecedented social isolation, and access virtual services and supports. The research will study how patients use ACHESS features, how organizations refer patients to the ACHESS, how they interact with patients in ACHESS, and the overall impact of the ACHESS features.