Telehealth Helped Decrease Fatal Opioid Overdoses, HHS Finds

Telehealth use was effective in decreasing the rate of fatal overdose among Medicare patients receiving treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), according to a new study by HHS scientists, coming as telehealth stakeholders press the Drug Enforcement Administration to back off its plan to reinstate in-person prescribing requirements for most controlled substances and instead allow virtual prescribing for behavioral health treatment to continue after the COVID-19 public health emergency ends via a special registration approach.