First on CNN: To ‘meet people where they are,’ HHS to allow opioid disorder treatment via telemedicine, at home

Some people being treated for opioid use disorders can now take home doses of their methadone medications or schedule telehealth appointments in ways they haven’t always been able to do before.

Some people being treated for opioid use disorders can soon take home doses of their methadone medications or schedule telehealth appointments in ways they haven’t always been able to do before. For the first time in more than two decades, the US Department of Health and Human Services is making significant updates to regulations governing Opioid Treatment Programs or OTP, certified and accredited programs that provide medications such as methadone or buprenorphine for people diagnosed with an opioid use disorder. These are the only certified programs through which people can access methadone treatment, a medication approved to treat opioid use disorder by reducing cravings and withdrawal and blunting or blocking the effects of opioids. A final rule, scheduled to publish Friday, will update the OTP regulations. The updates include expanding eligibility for patients to take home doses of their methadone treatment, allowing them to start treatment via telehealth and allowing nurse practitioners and physician assistants to order medications. These updates are intended to “meet people where they are,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said, and to make treatments more accessible. “If you are trying to take care of your family, get a new job, maybe go back to school and stay in recovery, being able to access treatment via telemedicine, that’s just a basic thing that makes a difference in somebody’s life to help them stay well,” said Rachel Pryor, counselor to the secretary. “Being able to take home doses of methadone so that you don’t have to go back and forth to a methadone clinic every single day, that helps you keep your job and get your life back,” she said. “We’re just trying to help people keep their lives together.”