Many persons with opioid use disorder (OUD) remain unhoused and hard to reach but may visit public libraries, presenting an opportunity for intervention to reduce the risk of opioid overdose. The Bupe by the Book project, a collaboration between The San Diego Public Library and the San Diego State University’s School of Social Work, used telemedicine in libraries to increase access to buprenorphine treatment for OUD. Two libraries offered a dedicated space and a support network to enable telehealth visits using tablets. Compared to a randomized control group who were not offered telemedicine at the library, those who used it were more more likely to reduce substance abuse and take buprenorphine. This suggests the program could be replicated by other public libraries to help address the opioid overdose crisis in their communities. 

Bupe by the Book was conceived as a pilot project to assess the feasibility of providing telemedicine support at libraries. An academic preprint describes the motivation, design, and implementation of the program. Given the positive initial findings, a larger randomized controlled study is being planned. A report describing the project is here, a news article here, and a video about it is here. Contact information for the project is available at the UC San Diego Health website.