COVID-19 & Substance Use in NYS: Policy & Service Delivery
CHOSEN Seminar
COVID-19 has intensified the already unprecedented overdose crisis in the U.S., with preliminary SAMHSA data showing a 30 percent increase in overdoses between 2019 and 2020. Other research has reported negative health outcomes related to substance use and COVID-19 including increased alcohol use, elevated positive substance use screens and patients with substance use disorder (SUD) presenting in acute medical settings, and elevated risk for COVID and of adverse COVID outcomes among people with SUD, and illumination of the effects of structural racism related to COVID outcomes, especially among Black and American Indian/Alaska Native communities. At the onset of the pandemic, in response to the need for COVID mitigation strategies, federal SUD treatment regulations were modified to ensure continued access to services, including flexible telehealth processes and extended prescriptions for buprenorphine and methadone. This seminar presents emerging research from New York State focused on the intersection of COVID-19 and substance use highlighting the relationship of behavioral health and SUD, policymaker perceptions of communication with providers regarding regulatory changes, successes and challenges to the implementation of SUD regulatory changes and impact on health equity, and overall access to SUD services. Speakers will focus on policy and service delivery implications informed by these new findings.
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