While the U.S. has recently seen a welcome downturn in drug overdose deaths, a new study from Northwestern Medicine is the first to pinpoint when the tide began to turn — identifying August 2023 as the national inflection point in the crisis.

Mass General Brigham researchers scrutinized this concern with the first-ever study comparing substance use disorder rates in patients with ADHD who were prescribed stimulant medications during in-person versus virtual appointments. They found that, overall, telehealth was not associated with increased risk of substance use disorder. Still, the researchers noted the importance of comprehensive diagnoses and routine follow-ups.