BACKGROUND: Alcohol use disorder (AUD) treatment remains greatly underutilized. Innovative strategies are needed to improve AUD treatment access and patient engagement. The Ria Treatment Platform (RTP) is a patient-centered telemedicine AUD treatment program accessed through a smartphone application (app) that includes a package of physician visits (with AUD prescriptions as appropriate), text- and phone-based support from a recovery coach, video monitoring of medication adherence, and Bluetooth-linked breathalyzer tracking of alcohol intake. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the current study is to examine changes in alcohol use among patients utilizing the RTP. METHODS: This study examines daily breathalyzer blood alcohol content (BAC) readings collected from 77 adult patients (50.7% male) over the first 90 days in treatment with the RTP. Data were analyzed using dynamic structural equation modeling. RESULTS: The treatment retention rate at 90 days was 55%. The best fit for the BAC data was given by a cubic curve, which showed that among patients who remained engaged for 90 days average BAC levels declined approximately 50% (from .091 to .045) from baseline to day 90. CONCLUSION: This study provides preliminary evidence of substantial alcohol use reductions among patients utilizing the RTP, an innovative telemedicine program accessed via smartphone. Although other alcohol-reduction apps have shown promise from scientific evaluations, the RTP appears to be the only app that incorporates physician-prescribed medication and a recovery coach. Research incorporating random assignment and meaningful comparison groups is needed to further evaluate this promising strategy.
BACKGROUND:Alcohol use disorder (AUD) treatment remains greatly underutilized. Innovative strategies are needed to improve AUD treatment access and patient engagement. The Ria Treatment Platform (RTP) is a patient-centered telemedicine AUD treatment program accessed through a smartphone application (app) that includes a package of physician visits (with AUD prescriptions as appropriate), text- and phone-based support from a recovery coach, video monitoring of medication adherence, and Bluetooth-linked breathalyzer tracking of alcohol intake. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the current study is to examine changes in alcohol use among patients utilizing the RTP. METHODS: This study examines daily breathalyzer blood alcohol content (BAC) readings collected from 77 adult patients (50.7% male) over the first 90 days in treatment with the RTP. Data were analyzed using dynamic structural equation modeling. RESULTS: The treatment retention rate at 90 days was 55%. The best fit for the BAC data was given by a cubic curve, which showed that among patients who remained engaged for 90 days average BAC levels declined approximately 50% (from .091 to .045) from baseline to day 90. CONCLUSION: This study provides preliminary evidence of substantial alcohol use reductions among patients utilizing the RTP, an innovative telemedicine program accessed via smartphone. Although other alcohol-reduction apps have shown promise from scientific evaluations, the RTP appears to be the only app that incorporates physician-prescribed medication and a recovery coach. Research incorporating random assignment and meaningful comparison groups is needed to further evaluate this promising strategy.