Deaths likely attributable to opioid overdoses have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, healthcare providers have struggled to help their patients obtain medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) such as buprenorphine. In response, the federal government allowed providers to start patients on buprenorphine via telehealth appointments.
Dr. Utsha Khatri and Dr. Jeanmarie Perrone, as part of the Buprenorphine Telehealth Consortium, outline some of the urgently needed policies that could help increase buprenorphine access in this recent blog.