In the USA, the government has come up with a new piece of legislation that is aimed at giving people more access to telemedicine for the treatment of opioid use disorder. This while the nation still grapples with a chronic opioid crisis the toll of which has become even larger with more than 30,000 lives taken each year.
As for the proposed legislation, it allows doctors to prescribe buprenorphine without an in-person evaluation, a practice that is very much outdated.
Earlier this year, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration jointly published a final rule that extended the audio-only telemedicine visits period for buprenorphine prescriptions to be used.
This decision comes as a huge step forward towards addressing the barriers to care for those who live in remote or underserved areas.
Doctors find the flexibility offered by the new rule, which allows for telemedicine prescriptions for a period of six months before requiring an in-person or audio-video consultation, quite comfortable.
In response, proponents claim this type of action will help reduce the delays and refusals of care as well as address the challenges inherent in the logistics of transportation.
At the same time, the downside of the expanded telemedicine system should not be overshadowed. Critics are concerned that lifting the restrictions could result in overprescription and abuse of buprenorphine, a medication that is extremely important for the recovery of opioid addiction.
These health organizations, however, request the immediate launch of the rule to be able to save lives without further delay.
The American Medical Association is strongly in favor of the bill which it sees as a stigma fighter and a better way for the patients to gain access to the necessary help against addiction. Thanks to the bipartisan consensus, the decision makers believe this program will be the first in the range of the broader telehealth reforms in the medical fields.
