The Biden administration has put forward changes to nationwide regulations that would widen the availability of certain treatments for opioid use disorder via telehealth, according to a US Department Health and Human Services (HHS) announcement.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) puts the number of deaths due to an overdose in 2021 at over 107,000.

Dr. Jonathan Watanabe (PhD, PharmD) of the University of California-Irvine, who served on the White House-sponsored committee on improving access to methadone, says that healthcare systems are struggling as cases mount and that this isn’t a new problem. Watanabe said it is vital to ensure more people can access treatment for drug misuse.

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