The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), is proposing to expand access to treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) at a time when more than 107,000 Americans lost their lives to an overdose last year. The proposal would update the federal regulations that oversee OUD treatment standards as part of HHS’ Overdose Prevention Strategy. Specifically, the proposed rule change would allow Americans to access the treatment by allowing take home doses of methadone and the use of telehealth in initiating buprenorphine at opioid treatment programs (OTPS).

In its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to update 42 CFR Part 8, SAMHSA is proposing to improve Americans’ access to and experiences with OUD treatment, in particular through OTPs. The proposed changes reflect the widespread desire by many stakeholders for SAMHSA to provide greater autonomy to OTP practitioners, positively support recovery, and continue

Full release: https://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/press-announcements/20221213/update-federal-rules-expand-access-opioid-use-disorder-treatment