1. The intertwined expansion of telehealth and buprenorphine access from a prescriber hub.
- Author
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Moore, David T., Wischik, Dora Lendvai, Lazar, Christina M., Vassallo, Gabriela Garcia, and Rosen, Marc I.
- Subjects
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OPIOID abuse , *BUPRENORPHINE , *COVID-19 pandemic , *TELEMEDICINE , *CONTROLLED substances - Abstract
In this manuscript, we describe how efforts to increase access to buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) through a telemedicine hub before and since the COVID-19 pandemic have played out in the Veterans Healthcare Administration (VHA) in New England. We look at how the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent spike in opioid overdoses tilted the risk: benefit calculation for tele-prescribing a controlled substance such as buprenorphine toward expanding access to tele-buprenorphine. We conclude that there is a need for tele-buprenorphine hubs that can fill gaps in geographically dispersed healthcare systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
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