Outbreak

Psychiatry

Internal medicine

Mental health

Pathology

Closure (psychology)

Virology

Economics

Receptor

Social distance

Opioid epidemic

(+)-Naloxone

Methadone

Buprenorphine

Disease

Opioid overdose

Opioid use disorder

Opioid

Opiate Substitution Treatment

2019-20 coronavirus outbreak

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Market economy

Infectious disease (medical specialty)

Medical emergency

Medicine

Pandemic

Journal of Addiction Medicine

The COVID19 crisis has created many additional challenges for patients with opioid use disorder, including those seeking treatment with medications for OUD. Some of these challenges include closure of substance use treatment clinics, focus of emergency departments on COVID-19 patients, social distancing and shelter in place orders affecting mental health, bystander overdose rescue, threats to income and supply of substances for people who use drugs. While the initial changes in regulation allowing buprenorphine prescribing by telehealth are welcomed by providers and patients, many additional innovations are required to ensure that additional vulnerabilities and hurdles created by this pandemic scenario do not further fan the flames of the opioid epidemic.

Opioid Use Disorder and COVID-19: Crashing of the Crises