#10 Telehealth Regulations, Opioids, and Substance Use Treatment

Mission: Recovery

Continued access to telehealth services, particularly as it relates to medication assisted treatment (MAT) for substance use disorders (SUDs), enjoys strong support and is an issue worth keeping an eye on. Nate Lacktman and Sunny Levine of the prestigious law firm of Foley & Lardner discuss the current state of telehealth regulations in the wake of COVID-19, which saw the expansion of telehealth services for people with substance use disorders, including opioid and alcohol use disorder.

However, with each passing month, it appears the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) is more likely to come to an end, and along with it the waivers that have allowed providers in much of the country to write prescriptions for MAT such as buprenorphine with naloxone for opioid use disorders (OUDs)--a scenario referred to as the Telehealth Cliff.

In this Episode, Nate and Sunny talk about the future of MAT, the importance of ePrescribing for SUDs and OUDs, pending legislation or rulemaking that could make virtual MAT permanent, and how the public can help influence upcoming decisions on ePrescribing policies.