RESUMEN
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: An electronic consultation to provide expert guidance on medications to treat opioid use disorders [MOUD] was piloted. METHODS: Medical record review of the first 100 unique patients receiving consultation with 6-month follow-up. Descriptive statistics, chi-square, and Fisher's exact tests of significance were calculated as appropriate. RESULTS: Most consultation requests originated from inpatient psychiatry (66%). Patients (67%) and consultants (33%) preferred buprenorphine/naloxone most often (p < 0.0001). Half of the patients received MOUD prior to discharge. Three quarters of the half who kept their first outpatient appointments received the recommended treatment (p < 0.0001). At 6 months, four patients died and four others overdosed only. Type of MOUD was not associated with either overdose or death, but those who overdosed used cannabis, sedative-hypnotics, or stimulants (all, p < 0 .05). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Guidance for MOUD offered via e-consultation may have increased outpatient treatment engagement following inpatient treatment.