As the COVID-19 emergency continues, individuals in need of treatment for opioid use disorders in California now have more opportunity to access life-saving medications via telemedicine or by phone. The federal government has waived a requirement that patients have an in-person visit with a physician before they could be prescribed certain types of drugs and has allowed the use of telemedicine and phone consultations for initial and subsequent prescriptions of medications for opioid use disorders:
“Addiction experts have been calling for that change for years to help expand access for patients in many parts of country that have shortages of physicians eligible to prescribe these medication-assisted treatments…Officials with the insurer Anthem said using [the] telemedicine option has helped increase medication-assisted treatment for members with opioid drug abuse issues from California and nine other states from 16% to more than 30%.”
You can read the full article from California Healthline here. See the Health Consumer Alliance’s COVID-19 resource page for more information on how to access substance use and other behavioral health services in California during the COVID-19 pandemic.
