Widespread usage of telehealth services has been one of the positives to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Allowing patients to see their providers and receive care from home has been a game-changer for healthcare, but especially for mental health, according to Dr. Omar Elhaj, senior medical director of LifeStance Midwest and Atlantic regions, which operates PsychBC in Beachwood; Dr. Phil Epstein, a psychologist at Partners for Behavioral Health & Wellness in Beachwood; and Chardé Hollins, behavioral health prevention specialist at the ADAMHS Board of Cuyahoga County in Cleveland.
Despite COVID-19, researchers from the University of Kentucky have continued their work on studying opioid use disorder. Those researchers shared an update on their projects and advocated for permanently expanding some telehealth services during a presentation to the Substance Use Recovery Task Force yesterday.
The move also applies to controlled dangerous substances, and is consistent with guidance from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, which issued a temporary waiver allowing a practitioner to prescribe a Schedule II CDS through telemedicine without an initial in-person examination.