Rule would ease access to gold-standard opioid use disorder treatments by allowing those treatments to be prescribed via telehealth

The Biden administration Wednesday finalized a long-awaited rule laying out how some health care providers can prescribe gold-standard opioid use disorder treatments through telehealth. [CQ Roll Call]

The final rule from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration within the Department of Health and Human Services allows providers who have not had an in-person visit with a patient to prescribe six months’ worth of buprenorphine through telehealth, including through audio-only visits.

Afterward, to continue prescribing buprenorphine through telehealth, providers can conduct an in-person medical evaluation or continue treating the patient “via another form of telemedicine.”

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