Giving Compass' Take:

• Eric Wicklund reports that the Health and Human Services Department is embracing the possibilities of telemedicine to expand access to substance abuse treatment. 

• How can funders help to accelerate the spread of telemedicine? What are the limitations of this technology? 

• Learn about prevention and treatment strategies to deal with the rural opioid epidemic. 

In a blog timed to coincide with Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness Week, Assistant Health Secretary Adm. Brett P. Giroir, MD, noted that healthcare providers can use connected care platforms to improve Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) therapy for people struggling with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD).

“HHS is committed to improving access to MAT for OUD and is working on a variety of strategies to improve access to this life saving treatment through increased funding to states and communities, payment policy changes, and education, training and technical assistance,” he wrote. “One such area is to help providers understand how telemedicine can be used, in certain circumstances, to expand access to buprenorphine-based MAT.”

Through MAT, healthcare providers can treat patients with OUD through a combination of behavioral health therapy and prescribed opioids like methadone, naltrexone and buprenorphine, which require special approval for prescription and need to be managed carefully. Telehealth advocates point out that that such treatments can be managed virtually, enabling providers to reach more patients and those in remote and rural locations to access the care they need.

Read the full article about telemedicine for substance abuse treatment by Eric Wicklund at mHealth Intelligence.