From 2016 to 2017, 50 percent more people received treatment for substance use disorder. While that’s a good sign in the fight against the opioid epidemic, many physicians still aren’t taking advantage of several tools that can help treat more patients in rural and remote areas.
In a recent blog post, the Department of Health and Human Services said it’s releasing materials to encourage physicians to take advantage of telemedicine tools in the ongoing effort to stop the opioid epidemic and better help patients who can’t easily access treatment.
The department has been working on several strategies to combat opioid use disorder and improve access to medication-assisted treatments. Some of those strategies include increased funding to states and communities, payment policy changes, education and telemedicine.
According to HHS, many people in rural and remote areas must travel long distances to receive opioid use disorder treatment. There are also few clinicians available to provide medication-assisted treatment. However, telemedicine can change that.
The HHS, along with the Drug Enforcement Agency, said the newly-available resources will help clinicians better understand how they can use telemedicine as a tool to treat opioid use disorder and expand treatment options.
“Sadly, this information is not widely known among healthcare providers and other stakeholders; and many have been reluctant to utilize telemedicine for prescribing (medication-assisted treatments)," the blog post said. "That is why we are taking this opportunity during Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness Week to make sure everyone knows that effective treatment is available, including via telemedicine, to help combat the opioid epidemic in the U.S."
“Beyond telemedicine, health information technology can be leveraged in many ways to combat the nation’s opioid crisis.”
Danielle covers Clinical Innovation & Technology as a senior news writer for TriMed Media. Previously, she worked as a news reporter in northeast Missouri and earned a journalism degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She's also a huge fan of the Chicago Cubs, Bears and Bulls.