Attorneys general want extension of telehealth visits for opioid-use disorder

Maura Healey

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By Sam Drysdale | State House News Service

Attorney General Maura Healey joined a coalition of 45 attorneys general calling on federal officials to permanently permit doctors to prescribe a drug to treat opioid use disorder during telehealth visits.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has allowed doctors to use telehealth visits to prescribe buprenorphine, one of the three FDA-approved drugs to treat opioid addiction, but the rule allowing it to be prescribed virtually is set to expire when the federal public health emergency ends.

In a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration led by officials in Florida and North Carolina, the attorneys general wrote that allowing telehealth prescriptions makes this treatment, which they describe as "critical" to reducing overdose deaths, "more accessible than ever."

On June 28, SAMHSA announced that buprenorphine can continue to be prescribed in virtual appointments after the public health emergency ends, but "no actions have been taken to affirm this change," the letter says.

"We urge action on this issue," the attorneys general wrote. "If the telemedicine flexibilities are not made permanent, the consequences will be grave for the 2.5 million Americans who utilize buprenorphine treatment."

Last year, an estimated 2,290 people died from opioid-related overdoses in Massachusetts, according to the state Department of Public Health.

"As our nation faces record-high overdose death rates, we need to remove barriers to care and expand access to treatment for those struggling with this crisis," Healey said. "Allowing for continued access to these telehealth services will provide the support and flexibility that individuals with substance use disorder need."