By: Gabrielle Balete
Pregnant women struggling with opioid use disorder face one of medicine’s most delicate challenges: maintaining their own recovery while protecting a developing life. Workit Health, a telehealth provider founded by two women with lived recovery experience, has achieved what many brick-and-mortar clinics consider nearly impossible—keeping 94% of expectant mothers engaged through six weeks postpartum.
The numbers tell a story that public health officials have been desperate to hear. Among pregnant patients who stayed with Workit Health rather than transferring care to traditional prenatal clinics, 94.2% remained active throughout their pregnancies and into the critical postpartum window. Every single participant tested positive for buprenorphine after delivery, demonstrating perfect adherence to medication protocols.
Telehealth Reaches Where Stigma Silences
Geography and shame create brutal barriers for pregnant people seeking opioid treatment. Rural communities often lack specialized providers, while urban centers may offer care that is laden with judgment. Workit Health’s virtual model dissolves both obstacles simultaneously. The company serves patients across 20% of rural zip codes—areas where traditional medication-assisted treatment programs remain sparse or nonexistent.
The platform’s harm-reduction philosophy enables patients to remain engaged without fear of dismissal, even when urine screens reveal unexpected substances. Roughly twenty percent of participants tested positive for substances other than their prescribed buprenorphine, yet they stayed active and continued progressing through treatment. That stands apart from punitive models that discharge patients for imperfect adherence to treatment.
Seventy-nine percent of pregnant patients received continuous opioid use disorder care through the service. Some transferred to prenatal specialists—eight percent chose this route—while the majority continued telemedicine appointments with Workit Health physicians throughout their pregnancy.
Research Backing Clinical Claims
Workit Labs, the company’s dedicated research arm, publishes its findings through peer-reviewed journals, including JAMA Network Open and specialized addiction science publications. Dr. M. Justin Coffey, a neuropsychiatrist leading Workit’s clinical teams, co-authored the March 2024 study on perinatal telehealth treatment, which documented these retention figures. Marlene C. Lira, the company’s director of research and president-elect of the New Mexico Society for Addiction Medicine, has contributed to multiple studies examining rural access, pharmacy barriers, and patient satisfaction with virtual care.
The company tracks outcomes that matter: 66% of new members remain enrolled at 3 months, compared to 50% in comparable programs, while 52% stay active at 6 months, versus just 22% elsewhere. Those retention gaps widen over time, suggesting that the combination of medication management, therapy, peer support, and digital tools creates stickiness that traditional models struggle to match.
Co-Occurring Conditions Demand Comprehensive Solutions
Seventy-eight percent of Workit Health members beginning opioid treatment carry depression diagnoses, while eighty-one percent screen positive for anxiety. Half show moderate to severe depressive symptoms at intake. Robin McIntosh and Lisa McLaughlin, the company’s founders, built their platform after navigating America’s fragmented healthcare infrastructure themselves. Their design choices reflect this lived knowledge: members access prescribers, therapists, and coaches through a single mobile application with evening and weekend availability.
The company received Small Business Innovation Research contracts from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to develop interoperability tools and data-responsive care systems. Partnerships with Ohio’s mental health and addiction services department and Texas’s Be Well program provide free or low-cost treatment to uninsured populations. Seventy-five percent of Workit Health’s opioid patients had never received medication-assisted treatment before joining the platform.
Each percentage point matters when overdose deaths continue claiming lives at crisis levels. Workit Health’s perinatal results suggest that removing logistical friction and clinical judgment from treatment access creates space for recovery to take root, even during pregnancy’s heightened vulnerability.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational purposes only. The effectiveness and outcomes discussed are based on specific experiences and may not be applicable to all individuals or healthcare settings. Readers should consult with healthcare professionals for personalized medical advice and treatment options.
