As healthcare shifted from in-person visits to telehealth during the pandemic, more and more patients with substance abuse were allowed to receive medications and treatment remotely, adding a new and positive alternative way to receive care. The Veterans Administration also moved in this direction, and a new study finds that medication treatment for opioid use disorder increased with this shift. The study showed that the number of VA patients who received the drug buprenorphine for drug withdrawal increased by 14 percent in the first year of the pandemic compared with the preceding months. This coincided with a huge jump in the use of telephone and video telehealth visits. The drug is part of a medication-assisted treatment strategy that should also include behavioral therapies and peer-based counseling, although it’s not clear if the study took these other components into account. The study adds to a growing body of evidence about the benefits of telehealth, which allows physicians to prescribe the drug without an in-person visit normally required for controlled substances, thereby increasing the number of patients with access to the medication. With the public health emergency set to expire, many experts are calling on the government to maintain the ruling on easier prescribing. This is worth considering as telehealth can play an important role in expanding treatment for many but not all patients.
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Rosenthal Center for AddictIon Studies