WVU in the News: Covid-19 has freed opioid addiction patients from daily methadone clinic visits
There are many ways in which Covid-19 has dramatically worsened the US opioid epidemic.
Routines are disrupted. Support networks inaccessible. Harm reduction services, such as needle exchanges, are closed. Opioid overdoses are up, opportunities for treatment fewer, and research is all but halted.
But despite the many setbacks, the pandemic is also pushing some necessary innovations in the treatment of opioid addiction disorder. Among the the most revolutionary is rethinking the need for daily visits to methadone clinics.