90% of Americans with SUD are not in treatment. When patients receive care, they do soinconsistently. The average length of time an American spends in treatment before seeing a fullyear of recovery is 9 years. Peer Support is proven to be effective at engaging patients who areunwilling to engage with traditional treatment. Outcomes from current face to face peer modelshave shown reductions in inpatient utilization and positive clinical outcomes such as improvedrecovery capital. While there is some evidence that group models such as AA and NA areeffective for some patients, their support is siloed away from other clinical care and communitysupport. Our solution, Marigold Recovery Service (MRS) is a novel, machine learning enabled,digital peer support program that is built on top of an anonymous text-based social network. Itfulfills the need for a robust, 24/7, secure platform to support patients at all stages of theirrecovery. This phase I proposal will demonstrate the ability of our service to engage and retainpatients with Opioid Use Disorders and will also develop novel techniques to automaticallyanalyze patient messages for clinical and social determinants of health-related needs.
Public Health Relevance Statement: PROJECT NARRATIVE
The widespread and chronic nature of opioid use disorder (OUD) necessitates investment in
highly scalable technology solutions. Our work has the potential to engage the hardest to reach
patients, particularly those in highly stigmatized and geographically isolated populations, giving
them 24/7 access to supportive recovery communities. While there are other peer models that
incorporate virtual support, Marigold's model is powered by novel and evolving technology,
uniquely adept at integrating with and building upon existing care plans, and specifically
designed for Medicaid members disproportionately impacted by the opioid and COVID 19
epidemics.
Project Terms:
