This issue brief from the Office of Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) identifies barriers to implementing buprenorphine prescribing via telehealth and makes suggestions on how to overcome these barriers. An overview of reimbursement by payors and additional links to resources are also provided in this document. 

This is an academic paper that provides commentary on leveraging telehealth in rural areas to increase the capacity of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in an underserved area. Current evidence for telehealth-delivered MOUD, promising program models, and regulatory issues are discussed, with links to many resources and data. 

Brattleboro Retreat in Vermont is taking a number of steps to meet the challenge of providing addiction treatment services during the coronavirus pandemic, including limiting admissions to in-state residents, setting up a care facility for those who test positive for the virus, and implementing telehealth for in-person meetings and counseling sessions.

This is a report from the Government Accountability Office that identifies and compares overall prevalence and differences in urban and rural areas for: the number of veterans with substance use disorder (SUD), the expenditures for veterans receiving SUD services, and availability of specialty SUD services. Veterans with opioid use disoder (OUD) in rural areas were found to receive medication treatment less frequently compared with urban areas. 

This is an academic paper that describes the state's modified hub-and-spoke model to build organizational capacity for facilities to use buprenorphine to treat patients with opioid use disorder and to provide ongoing case consultation. Preliminary results after implementation are provided, including barriers. 

This is a perspective academic paper by medical providers on the intersection of the opioid crisis and the coronavirus pandemic, with a focus on buprenorphine prescribing and sustainability of opioid research. 

This is a report from the Chicago Urban League that focuses on areas where blacks are been disproportionately affected by the opioid crisis, with a special emphasis on Chicago. A public health response, and how this is different than the policy response of the War on Drugs, is discussed as well as racial equity and justice. Blacks should not be excluded from narratives about the opioid crisis and should be included in the development and implementation of national and local public health initiatives. 

This is a report from SAMHSA that looks at the role of language in perpetuating stigma for substance use disorders, followed by tips for assessing when and how stigmatizing language is being used and steps for ensuring that the language we use and messages we deliver are positive, productive, and inclusive.

This is a report from SAMHSA that provides education on opioid and other substance misuse, employing cost-effective prevention strategies and strategies to identify this misuse in the workplace, links to many helpful resources.  

This website from the Yale Program in Addiction Medicine provides documents for different stakeholders impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, including guidance for youths and adults engaged in treatment, clinicians, and hospitals. 

This toolkit offers the support and resources that people with opioid use disorder may need as they navigate housing, employment, and treatment. Each section clearly outlines the rights these individuals hold, how to exercise them, and where to receive more support and resources. It aims to provide the building blocks needed to address discrimination associated with drug use or addiction. 

This is an academic paper that provides commentary on the impact of the opioid crisis on youth. The treatment system currently available to adolescents is described, shortfalls are identified, and recommendations are made to enable pediatricians to better manage substance use disorders in primary care.