Opinion: The DEA needs to officially allow telehealth prescribing for opioid use disorder
Now is the time for advocates to demand the DEA enshrine telehealth care.
The statistics are dismal, though they bear repeating: 81% of overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2021 involved an opioid.
But as an addiction medicine specialist, there are figures that give me hope: one seminal study showed that 75% of patients who were given the FDA-approved medication buprenorphine to treat opioid use disorder daily for 12 months remained in recovery — compared with 0% who did not receive buprenorphine treatment for the entire 12 months. That’s right: 0%.
What's Your Reaction?
