West Virginia Payer Adds mHealth Tools to Substance Abuse Treatment
Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield is giving its 325,000+ members in West Virginia access to a substance abuse treatment program that includes mHealth tools.
Source: ThinkStock
By - West Virginia’s Blue Cross Blue Shield program is giving its members access to an mHealth program designed to improve treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), particularly in rural areas where access to care is limited.
Highmark West Virginia, which serves roughly 325,000 members, is partnering with Bright Heart Health to offer the digital health service, which makes medication-assisted treatment (MAT) available on a connected health platform for people who can’t easily access in-person care.
"MAT therapy is considered the gold standard of care for opioid use disorder, but there are many MAT 'deserts' across West Virginia," Caesar DeLeo, MD, vice president and executive medical director of strategic initiatives for Highmark, said in a press release. "In these areas, patients have extremely limited access to evidence-based OUD treatment and may face significant wait times or transportation challenges. Clinicians are overextended. Through this program, we will be able to partner with clinicians so that our members receive the kind of comprehensive, accessible OUD treatment that puts them on a path to long-term recovery."
