SAMHSA Final Rule Makes Permanent OTP Take-Home Flexibilities, Enables Methadone Induction Via Telehealth
OUD
Efforts to Expand Access to Methadone Must be Practical and Reasonable: Op-Ed by RCPA Director of SUD Treatment Services Jason Snyder
PA DOH Now Accepting Applications for PA-SUN RFA
The Pennsylvania Department of Health (PA DOH) is currently accepting applications for the PA-SUN Request for Applications (RFA). Hospitals and Health Systems, on behalf of their ED(s), are invited to apply to the Department in accordance with RFA # 67-166.
The Department is interested in funding applications addressing building and implementing health system-wide clinical capacity to screen, diagnose, and support longitudinal care for opioid use disorder (OUD) and stimulant use disorder (StUD) as well as support recovery for adults and adolescents.
The overall goal of this funding is to promote and support ED linkage to care via multidisciplinary teams utilizing navigators, to include strategies like focused connections during care for conditions that may represent sequelae of substance use and enhanced universal screening for substance use disorder (SUD) among patients presenting for other reasons to EDs to identify new opportunities to engage in and link to care.
All questions regarding this RFA must be directed via email, no later than 12:00 pm on December 4, 2023. All questions must include the specific section of the RFA about which the potential applicant is requesting clarification. Answers to all questions will be posted on PA eMarketplace. To review the responses to posed questions, select ‘Solicitations’ and search for RFA #67-166. Applications must be received no later than 1:30 pm on January 16, 2024.
An additional update regarding the educational modules: By end of year 2023, the PA-SUN team intends to release asynchronous (self-study) education modules to aid EDs in increasing knowledge on topics such as harm reduction, buprenorphine initiation, linkage to care, and stigma. For updates regarding the education modules please visit the PA-SUN website.
Drug Overdose Antidote Narcan Goes Over-The-Counter
House Appropriations Committee to Analyze DDAP’s $370 Million Budget in Hearing on Tuesday
Regulations Tape Off Empty Drug Rehab Beds: RCPA SUD Treatment Services Director Jason Snyder Quoted
Even Over the Counter, Narcan May Be Too Costly to Reach Many Drug Users
RCPA to Testify at Center for Rural PA Hearing on SUD Treatment Workforce, Regulations
RCPA SUD Treatment Services Policy Director Jason Snyder will testify on Thursday, March 9, at the Center for Rural Pennsylvania’s hearing, “New Developments in the Opioid and Substance Use Disorder Crisis in Rural Pennsylvania.”
Snyder will testify on a panel that will examine SUD treatment workforce and regulation. Justin Wolford, Director of Outpatient Services at RCPA member CenClear, also will testify on the panel. Wolford will focus on the workforce crisis, while Snyder will discuss regulations that exacerbate the crisis and should be reformed.
The hearing will be comprised of four total panels:
- Developments in the Supply of Narcotics;
- Data Resources;
- Funding and Programming; and
- Workforce and Regulations.
The hearing begins at 9:00 am and will take place in the Main Capitol Building, Room 8E-B, in Harrisburg. It also will be livestreamed online.
DEA Accepting Public Comment on Proposal Limiting Tele-Prescribing of Buprenorphine Without In-Person Visit
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is proposing to roll back flexibilities implemented during the public health emergency (PHE) in tele-prescribing buprenorphine. The proposed new regulation would mandate an initial in-person visit with a prescriber in order for a patient to receive more than a 30-day buprenorphine prescription. Since 2020, those with opioid use disorder have been able to receive prescriptions for buprenorphine, including the initial prescription, following a tele-appointment.
Patients who began buprenorphine treatment during the PHE under the expanded flexibilities would have a 180-day grace period but would then need to see a prescriber in person before continuing treatment under the DEA’s proposed rule.
The proposed rule and instructions for providing comments are available online. The public comment period closes March 31, 2023.
Congress Eliminates X-Waiver Requirement to Prescribe Buprenorphine to Treat OUD
With the passage and signing into law of a federal omnibus appropriations bill last week, the requirement that healthcare providers possess a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) X-waiver to prescribe buprenorphine to treat opioid use disorder (OUD) has been eliminated. The move is intended to expand access to addiction treatment.
Named for the “x” that accompanies a narcotics prescribing license, DEA X-waivers have been required to prescribe buprenorphine, a Schedule III drug, as treatment for OUD. Applying for an X-waiver required providers to undergo additional training. The X‑waiver requirement had also limited the number of patients providers can treat. It was largely seen as a barrier preventing many practitioners from treating addiction.
Read the White House’s statement on elimination of the X-waiver.
