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Results sorted by posted date (oldest first)
Posted 1/20/2021 (updated 4/4/2024)
People who use drugs (PWUD) in the U.S. experience disproportionate adverse health outcomes and mortality as compared with the population as a whole (Lake & Kennedy, 2016; Reisinger, Pratt, Shoenborn, & Druss, 2017). Similar health outcomes have been reported elsewhere, for example in the UK (Neale, 2004), and across 8 other European countries (Bargagli et al., 2006). In the U.S. health outcomes among PWUD are intensified by the overdose pandemic, epidemic rates of HIV, hepatitis A and C, skin and soft tissue infections (CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020; Hagen, Thiede, & Des Jarlais, 2005; Scholl, Seth, Kariisa, Wilson, & Baldwin, 2019), and by structural barriers thwarting health access and utilization.
Posted 12/21/2022 (updated 3/27/2024)
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration released a notice of proposed rulemaking that would allow certified opioid treatment programs to begin prescribing the drug via audio-only or video-enabled telehealth. See additional information under Policy Updates below. The proposed changes come on top of recent findings by HHS of the positive impact of its revised Practice Guidelines for the Administration of Buprenorphine for Treating Opioid Use Disorder that removed two longstanding requirements for obtaining a waiver to treat up to 30 patients with buprenorphine: 1) the requirement for specific training, and 2) the need for otherwise eligible clinicians to certify their ability to provide or refer patients for counseling and other services. Rural primary care providers have obtained the DEA waiver at a lower rate than urban clinicians; decreased burden and greater flexibility in the guidelines, along with broader use of telehealth could help close that gap.