The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has relaxed several rules to improve access to methadone, a medicine often used for opioid use treatment. In Arizona, telehealth will continue to play a large role, and take-home doses could eventually be expanded.
Dr. Melody Glenn is an assistant professor of emergency medicine and psychiatry at the University of Arizona.
“This is huge,” Glenn said. “I encounter so many people who want to be on methadone treatment, that's just not feasible in their lives, and we know we already have this discrepancy and inequality between urban and rural health care, and this is just another example of this.”
Accessing methadone treatment usually means visiting special clinics and taking it under supervision.
“How it used to be, and how it still is in many places,” Glenn said, “is that patients actually go every single day to the methadone clinic to take their medication in front of a nurse.”
That can add extra burdens to a person’s life as they try to recover, according to Glenn, like making it hard to hold down a job or go out of state for a few days. It’s a problem Glenn said is exacerbated in rural areas, where patients often face long drives to clinics.
The extension for starting treatment remotely, she added, will be a game-changer for many.
“We want to be there for them instead of saying, ‘Oh yeah, come back in two weeks when we have an in person appointment,’ you know?” said Glenn. “In that moment, you could capture someone via telemedicine appointment, get them started.”
Glenn said she hopes this will lead to a shift toward a treatment-focused approach, ultimately saving more lives.
Recovery from addiction is possible. For help, please call the free and confidential treatment referral hotline (1-800-662-HELP), or visit findtreatment.gov.
