According to a news release this week, the university launched a virtual dosing window in partnership with Sonara Health, a health-care technology company based in Dallas that designs telehealth platforms to allow patients to record their doses of methadone, which are typically given in person under a physician's supervision, from home with care teams monitoring remotely.
The news release said Sonara has partnered with some clinics and treatment centers in the past, but this collaboration with UAMS marks its first partnership with a university. UAMS also has a history of using regional campuses and clinical programs to expand health-care access to rural areas. In 2020, the university started providing 24/7 access to a wide range of care through HealthNow, an application that allows anyone in the state to connect to medical providers via video call for assistance with common illnesses, stomach problems, skin problems, minor injuries and HIV prevention. The university's partnership with Sonara Health adds the option of methadone treatments, which are historically difficult to include in telehealth services.
“Although UAMS already has long provided health care across Arkansas through its regional campuses and clinical programs, now that presence is around the clock and able to reach anyone in the state who can connect to the Internet,” UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, said in a public statement in January 2020. “In many cases, we expect people in underserved rural areas may be able to avoid making a long, late-night drive to a hospital emergency department or waiting hours to see a physician.”
The university is also operating an awareness campaign for its new services while offering training, an educational website and technology support to ensure Arkansas residents know about telehealth offerings and how to use them. The Arkansas Center for Telehealth runs these initiatives and conducts research on how to best promote telehealth adoption.
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website, methadone treatment requires close observation because it's a controlled substance, which can mean a patient has to commute to a medical center as often as daily to receive their dose. Historically, a small percentage of patients using methadone have been given take-home privileges, or the ability to take some or all of their doses at home based on their length of treatment and a physician’s discretion. The news release said UAMS and Sonara's virtual dosing window makes it easier for patients to qualify for take-homes, giving them the option to scan a QR code on their prescription bottle and record a video of themselves taking their dose rather than traveling to take it in person.
“Many of our patients live far from Little Rock and have jobs. Coming here every day for treatment can be a hardship and disruptive to their lives,” Michael Mancino, medical director of UAMS Center for Addiction Services and Treatment, said in a public statement. “With Sonara, they only have to come in one day a week or less as opposed to five days per week.”
Founded in 2020, Sonara Health is one of many companies to capitalize on the expansion of telehealth since the COVID-19 pandemic. Telehealth is not new to the higher education sector — Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center started using telehealth to reach patients in rural areas in the 1980s, for example — but it has become more common with demand and technological improvements. In Connecticut, the college and university system started offering free telehealth counseling services in 2021, and the state of New Jersey partnered with the mental health platform Uwill last year to roll out telehealth for college students across the state.
