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A sweeping expansion of telehealth services is opening new pathways to addiction treatment across Pennsylvania, where distance, transportation, and provider shortages have long limited care — especially in rural counties.
State officials say the newly approved online model will let licensed providers deliver full substance use disorder treatment remotely, part of a broader effort to curb overdose deaths and modernize behavioral health care.
“[Substance abuse disorder] is a chronic disease, and people are going to have varying levels of need throughout their lives … We have to meet them at every stage, and we can do that with telehealth,” said Dr. Julia D’Alo, Gateway Rehab’s chief medical officer.
This past summer, the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs issued the state’s first telehealth exceptions for a licensed substance use disorder treatment provider to Gateway Rehab. The nonprofit, based in Aliquippa, has almost 20 physical inpatient and outpatient clinics in the region.
Prior to this program, only drug and alcohol facilities with a physical location in Pennsylvania could apply to the state Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs for a license to also offer telehealth services. This new program does not require a physical location for a treatment provider to administer telehealth services.
In 2024, one Pennsylvanian died from a drug overdose every three hours, according to the state Office of Drug Surveillance and Misuse Prevention. There were 3,336 fatal overdoses, a 29% decrease from the year prior. However, the number of fatal overdoses has increased since 2012.
Gateway Rehab has offered telehealth services prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the new license allows them to offer programming fully online, including intensive outpatient treatment and counseling group sessions.
“We were averaging about 240 patients per week [prior to the license] and now we’re at about 411,” said Matthew Rumbaugh, Gateway Rehab executive director of telehealth. “We’re seeing people all the way from Erie down to Fayette and Greene Counties … The biggest barriers are stigma and transportation, but we’ve been able to help eliminate those.”
A patient’s treatment is managed through an app where they can log in for sessions, access their medical records, complete online trainings and journal prompts, and message their providers, said Rumbaugh.
“Even if a patient is done with a certain treatment, we hope they continue to message through the app and continue to get help when they need it,” he said.
Gateway Rehab is also renovating its Robinson location to become a “telehealth hub,” where they will invite and train substance abuse treatment providers throughout the state and country on how to implement and maintain telehealth services.
“There are a lot of different ways to utilize telehealth for behavioral and physical health care, and the goal of the hub is to share this knowledge and get more people the help that they need,” D’Alo said.
They hope to open the hub within the next couple of months, Rumbaugh said.
“The beautiful thing about having this hub and technology is that we can increase access, the length of treatment, so we can collect more comprehensive data,” he said. “We then can share that with the state, so they get a better idea of what really is happening and how to plan from there.”
Passage of SB 739 in June of 2024 was crucial in acquiring the new license, as the bill required insurance providers to pay for covered services provided through telehealth, Rumbaugh said.
“You can't implement a telehealth program, nor can you sustain a telehealth program if it is not reimbursed,” Rumbaugh said.
The Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs said in a statement that only one other provider has acquired this telehealth license, but they expect this number to grow.
Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed earlier this month a new Rural Health Transformation Plan. If approved by the federal government, it will provide up to $200 million per year for five years to improve health care access in rural communities. The funding will also be used to make investments in technology, like telehealth.
The Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs also cited that in the new state budget, the Human Services code was amended to remove the Medicaid requirement of in-person care for behavioral health services — including substance abuse disorder treatment — expanding telehealth access for those who use the health coverage. About 23% of Pennsylvanians are on Medicaid, according to the state Department of Human Services.
There are nearly 800 physical substance use disorder treatment facilities across the Commonwealth and about 400 licensed recovery houses.
Individuals seeking substance use treatment or recovery resources can call the Get Help Now helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit Treatment Atlas online.
Erin Yudt is a reporter with Pittsburgh Media Partnership Newsroom, part of the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University. She most recently was a multimedia content producer and digital reporter at WKBN in Youngstown and is a graduate of Point Park University. Reach her at erin.yudt@pointpark.edu.
Kyle Ferreira is an intern with the newsroom and a visual journalist enrolled at Chatham University. Reach him at kyle.ferreira@pointpark.edu.
The PMP Newsroom is a regional news service that focuses on government and enterprise reporting in southwestern Pennsylvania. Find out more information on foundation and corporate funders here.