ICER assessed the comparative clinical effectiveness and economic value of digital health technologies (DHTs) for opioid use disorder. ICER has reviewed other related topics, such as abuse-deterrent opioid formulations, medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder, and non-drug interventions for lower back pain.

The Midwest CEPAC determined current evidence is inadequate to demonstrate a net health benefit for reSET-O, Connections, or DynamiCare digital technologies, and that reSET-O at its current price represents low long-term value for money. To prove the value of digital health technologies that have a therapeutic function, experts on ICER’s policy roundtable call for randomized controlled trials, or at a minimum, high-quality observational studies using an appropriate comparator and patient-relevant outcomes.

This review reinforced ICER’s commitment to provide an independent evaluation of the evidence around interventions that target the public health crises stemming from the opioid epidemic in the United States.

Review date: November 2020

For more information, please contact info@icer.org.

Final Documents

Below you will find the final documents from the assessment review process:

“Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) saves lives and money, and new interventions should be developed, tested, and implemented that can augment the number of individuals who can access MAT, reduce stigma, and ensure that individuals receive care in a format that helps them achieve their goals…Digital health technologies that can augment access to effective treatment modalities may improve outcomes for many individuals, but it is vital that adequate evidence be generated to evaluate the relative effectiveness of different options so that each person can receive effective treatment tailored to maximize their health. Poor evidence that leads to ineffective use of DHTs represents a health risk to individuals, a financial risk to the health system, and a moral risk for us all that society will fail in its responsibility to use its resources to the greatest effect in combatting an ongoing national epidemic.