HHS will make permanent the flexibility for prescribing buprenorphine through telehealth implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a final rule issued by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration on Jan. 31, opioid treatment programs will be able to initiate treatment for opioid use disorder using the drug through telehealth without requiring in-person visits.
The agency will also allow for more flexibility in prescribing take-home methadone treatments for opioid use disorder, eliminating requirements that unsupervised doses can only be prescribed to patients after a certain amount of time in treatment.
The rule is designed to make treatment in opioid treatment programs accessible to patients, the agency wrote. The flexibilities do not apply to other providers aside from opioid treatment programs.
Read the full rule here.