White House Eases Cap on Medication for Opioid Addiction
In the USA, Frontline report on changes in policy to allow doctors to issue more prescriptions for buprenorphine; new rules aimed at improving drug monitoring by federal prescribers treating Native Americans and military veterans; a proposal to end financial incentives based on patient feedback for doctors who prescribe opioids; and more than a dozen new scientific studies on pain treatment and opioid dependence.
The change to the regulation of prescribing buprenorphine, which comes into effect in August 2016, and providing as many as 90,000 patients a year with access to the drug, comes at a time when 'more than 47,000 Americans a year are dying from drug overdoses — more than are killed in automobile accidents'.
The news was announced by Department of Health and Human Services and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy to reporters on a conference call.
Frontline go on to discuss the timing of these changes aligning with Congress' preparation of legislation to address the current opioid crisis faced by the USA.