GREENFIELD — Those struggling to overcome their prescription painkiller or heroin addictions may have another treatment option available to them soon, with federal help that is being lauded by local health officials.
President Barack Obama announced on Tuesday his plan to increase availability of Suboxone to fight the ongoing national opioid and heroin abuse epidemic, which killed an estimated 1,173 Massachusetts residents in 2014.
Access to long-term treatment options like Suboxone is something that Franklin County is lacking, local experts say. Dr. Ruth Potee, who leads the regional Opioid Task Force’s Health Solutions Committee, said expanding access to buprenorphine, which is typically sold under the brand name Suboxone, adds another option for those who are trying to get clean.
“We have been waiting for this critical policy change from the federal government for months,” said Potee. “It felt slow in coming but we are glad it is here.”
The plan would allow doctors who prescribe buprenorphine — a chemical-replacement medication used to treat addiction — to double the number of patients to which their allowed to treat with it.
Currently, regulations cap doctors at 100 patients. That’s to make sure the drug is used safely, since it can become addictive in its own right, and isn’t diverted to sale on the streets.
Potee said part of the destigmatization of addiction is recognizing it as a chronic disease that responds to treatments like buprenorphrine-assisted therapy.
“Like all disease, you need to approach it from many angles. There is not one route to recovery. Treatment with medicine helps many people get their lives back,” she said.
Potee questioned the existence of the limits in the first place, however, noting that there’s no federal limit on prescribing prescription opioids or other addictive drugs and that only doctors can prescribe buprenorphine.
“There is not a single drug that requires you to have ‘MD’ after your name to prescribe. Is it being announced that (physician’s assistants) and (nurse practitioners) will be able to prescribe?” she said. “To really impact this disease, we need to increase the number of prescribers in the country, especially in rural areas. For those of us who currently prescribe lifting the limits will only impact the big treatment providers like CleanSlate.”
CleanSlate operates several drug-and-alcohol addiction-treatment facilities in Massachusetts, including one in Greenfield. Services include buprenorphine and other medications used to fight opioid addiction.
You can reach Tom Relihan at:
trelihan@recorder.com
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