For community health clinics treating patients with opioid use disorder (OUD), COVID-19 has created an immense barrier to treatment. Typical OUD response workflows involve in-person appointments and follow-ups. Many regulations restrict providers from prescribing medications for opioid use disorder, like buprenorphine, through telehealth. Thankfully, federal and state regulations have adapted these regulations during COVID-19. To ensure Cook County providers are up to date with the most recent regulation, the Illinois Public Health Institute, Alliance for Health Equity, and Chicago Department of Public Health partnered to host a webinar. The webinar offered a review of updated regulations specific to opioid use disorder treatment in office-based settings during the national emergency by Dr. Elizabeth Salisbury-Afshar, American Institutes for Research. Dr. Nicole Gastala, UI Health/Mile Square Health Center, and Dr. Juleigh Nowinski-Konchak, Cook County Health, presented the partnerships, workflows, and lessons learned during the adaptation to caring for patients during COVID-19.
Thank you to The Chicago Department of Public Health and Otho S.A. Sprague Memorial Institute for providing funding for this project
Video recording: https://youtu.be/LIYkbQPBGhA
Resources for providers: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qJKFcubbaUhew-5YK-EFqbys4mQf5DQnUoqQccRU0e0/edit?usp=sharing
Information provided is not legal advice. Please continue to monitor federal and state agencies for updates on regulations.