HHS Expands Access to Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder

Exciting news! The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is expanding access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorders. Physicians with a DEA license will now be exempt from the X-Waiver requirement needed to prescribe buprenorphine for patients with opioid use disorder. Increasing access to this proven safe, life-saving and life-changing treatment will inevitably improve care for our patients and help prevent the many preventable deaths related to the opioid crisis.

Shoutout to Dr. Ryan Marino, one of our medical toxicologists, who has been a huge advocate for this exemption. He authored the American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT) Position Statement on removal of the X-Waiver requirement for buprenorphine prescribing. Strong work, Dr. Marino!