Study: Barriers impede buprenorphine telehealth for pregnant and postpartum women

Pregnant and postpartum women with opioid use disorder (OUD) have a dearth of telehealth treatment for buprenorphine, not because the medication isn't safe for them or because it's not available, but because of other barriers, according to a viewpoint published online September 21 in JAMA Internal Medicine . There is widespread availability of buprenorphine via telehealth due to recent expansion of this modality, but it's not available to pregnant and postpartum women in many states, according to the authors of “Buprenorphine via Telehealth—Closing the Gap for Pregnant and Postpartum Women With Opioid Use Disorder.” The study, by Rachel K. Landis, PhD, MPP, and colleagues, noted that states have different policies about prescribing and utilization. For example, some states allow only in‐person prescribing of all controlled substances, including buprenorphine. Others allow only certain clinicians to use telehealth for controlled substances. In addition, states have different requirements for insurance coverage. Medicaid patients face other barriers to telehealth buprenorphine.