CEO Update 100
Health Affairs Blog Examines Strategies for Helping Individuals with OUD During Covid-19
A Health Affairs blog post this week outlines specific strategies that the federal government, states, and other stakeholders can apply to help individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) mitigate the effects of Covid-19.
Co-writers Jocelyn Guyer, managing director at Manatt Health, and Karen Scott, president of the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts, note in the blog post that states and providers should update their approach to OUD treatment and “not only change their policies on paper but also issue clear and authoritative guidance to explain the new options available to help people with OUD through the pandemic.”
The article highlights the various federal agencies involved in regulating medications used for OUD and recommends what should come next.
“In the longer term, as the Covid-19 crisis eases, it also will be important to evaluate whether any of the temporary policy changes should be adopted on an ongoing basis,” the authors wrote. “These could include, for example, eliminating prior authorization requirements for medications used for OUD; allowing access to medications used for OUD even if someone is not participating in counseling; and using telehealth to ease access to medications used for OUD, peer supports, and individual counseling.”
AHRQ Releases Consent Form for Telehealth Services
HHS’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has released a consent form for providers to document they had a discussion with a patient about telehealth services and that the patient understood the information discussed.
AHRQ said providers should mail or provide an electronic portal to the form so patients have it before the discussion, and they should arrange for a qualified interpreter if the patient does not speak English well.
The agency said the form is intended as a checklist to make sure providers cover all important information with patients in easy-to-understand language. Click here to access the form and for tips to follow during the consent discussion.
Brookings Releases Report on Removing Barriers to Telehealth Services
Research organization The Brookings Institution this week released Removing Regulatory Barriers to Telehealth Before and After Covid-19, a report that concludes state and federal barriers have prevented telehealth services from launching its full capabilities.
The report provides a brief overview of the U.S. healthcare system; defines telemedicine, telehealth, and digital health; and examines federal versus state telehealth use implementation. Researchers noted that Covid-19 has shown the world the value of telemedicine, and asserted that telehealth regulations, especially those at the state level, should be written with a “broad eye toward the future,” being as flexible as possible.
“While progress was being made before the coronavirus outbreak to adopt telehealth in states,” the study’s researchers wrote, “the pandemic not only demonstrated its worth but also proved it necessary to avert larger meltdowns in hospital systems and among medical professionals—even those whose work was stopped due to social distancing.”
Next Week is National Prevention Week
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s next National Prevention Week is May 10 through 16. This Mental Health Month, click here to download a toolkit from Mental Health America and here for resources from the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
NABH Joins Psych Hub
NABH recently became a partner with Psych Hub, an online learning platform about mental health, substance use, and suicide prevention.
Psych Hub’s free micro-video library hosts more than 100 consumer-facing, animated videos focused on improving mental health literacy and reducing stigma about seeking care. Click here to see all of Psych Hub’s partner organizations.
Fact of the Week
A recent Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll found that older adults were less likely than adults ages 18 to 64 to report that worry or stress related to the coronavirus has had a negative effect on their mental health: 31% versus 49%, respectively.
For questions or comments about this CEO Update, please contact Jessica Zigmond.