Suboxone Telemedicine: How it Works and Benefits

Telemedicine is a way of accessing medical care through phone calls, video calls, or digital platforms. A doctor or nurse communicates with the patient with real-time audio and video. As the opioid crisis continues to grow and gain momentum, there has been a movement towards online telemedicine treatment for opioid addiction. Telemedicine makes patient care possible in rural and remote areas, as well as more convenient in general. Access to virtual health care is more important than ever due to COVID-19, rising overdoses, and the ability to overcome previously limiting social determinants of health. Telehealth and telemedicine empower patients to access an online Suboxone doctor from their homes, in turn avoiding exposure to COVID-19 and improving access to care.

Medication for addiction treatment has been proven to be effective via telehealth. Medication assisted treatment (MAT) of opioid use disorder (OUD) online works, and modern telemedicine technologies are only continuing to improve. Recent developments in telecommunications technology have meant that health care providers can treat and diagnose acute pain and chronic illness by remote means.

The opioid overdose epidemic originated in the late ’90s and continues to be a leading cause of death in the US. In 2016, opioids were involved in over 42,000 deaths in the US, five times higher than the numbers recorded in the 1990s and continues to rise today. Addiction to opioids ranges from prescription pain relievers (morphine, hydrocodone, oxycodone) to synthetic opioids (fentanyl) to illicit drugs like heroin. The gap between patients receiving OUD treatment and patients who require OUD treatment remains substantial. Suboxone treatment online increases the capacity to treat OUD and deliver safe care directly to patients in compliance with FDA regulations.

Telehealth/Telemedicine Suboxone

Suboxone is prescribed as a treatment for OUD. Its unique properties position the drug as a highly effective treatment for addiction to opioids. The medication is available as a strip. Suboxone strips are thin, soluble films that are placed under the tongue. From here, the medication dissolves and enters the body.

The medication consists of buprenorphine and naloxone. Buprenorphine, the active ingredient, binds itself to the brain’s opiate receptor to block full opioid agonists like oxycodone and heroin from stimulating the receptor site. While it is attached to the opioid receptor, it partially activates the receptor. Buprenorphine prevents withdrawal symptoms and suppresses opioid cravings. The naloxone in the drug prevents misuse, activating to block opioid stimulation and intoxication in the event the medication is misused, such as being used by injection. Suboxone is highly effective in the treatment of OUD.

See Suboxone Ingredients: All You Need to Know for more about the role of naloxone in Suboxone.

In theory, Suboxone gives you enough of the drug you are addicted to keep you out of withdrawal while allowing your brain to heal from addiction at the same time. Suboxone replaces the dependent opiate in a controlled way so patients can get their lives back, return to work/school, rebuild their relationships, etc.

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Suboxone Telemedicine and Suboxone Treatment Online

Telehealth is an effective method in performing and overseeing both continued primary and urgent care. Medical information is stored and accessed in a central electronic health record database. A licensed health care professional will e-prescribe the Suboxone medication. The e-prescription is then sent directly to the pharmacy. While telemedicine boasts a number of conveniences such as privacy and affordability, Suboxone patients are also monitored for diversion. Diversion management includes conducting routine urine tests and educating patients on the safe storage of their prescriptions and other guidelines. The presence of naloxone, the opioid blocker or antagonist in Suboxone, helps mitigate the risk of diversion and reduces harm.

Patients with OUD need continuous care and appropriate psychosocial support for recovery in place. The four days of treatment with Suboxone, called “induction,” requires daily virtual visits with your prescriber to ensure you are establishing the best dose, more on this below. After induction, maintenance of abstinence from opioids typically requires weekly virtual check-ups to adjust, manage and assess their dosage as well as identify any problem areas. With correct dosing, there should be decreased cravings and illicit opioid use. Telemedicine makes weekly check-ups feasible with minimal interruption to your life.

Suboxone induction begins with a prescription for the first one or two days of treatment. The patient is then monitored daily for at least 4 days, altering dosages as needed under the supervision of a health care practitioner. The length of the prescription is tied to the patient’s progress. If the patient is doing well, generally, they are given a longer prescription. If the patient is not doing well, a shorter prescription is more appropriate so that they can be monitored. The patient also receives a prescription for comfort medications during this transition.

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Suboxone Doctors Online

This new model of online virtual medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction supports the starting of Suboxone treatment at home while also providing unlimited online access to healthcare providers and counselors with flexible, on-demand schedules. Telehealth offers direct, compassionate, evidence-based care.

The medication-assisted treatment of addiction via online telemedicine increases addiction recovery success rates. By improving access to this care using telecommunications systems, we will see a decrease in the number of deaths linked to OUD and considerable improvements to public health as a whole. Speak to your provider at Confidant about acquiring an online Suboxone doctor and access to Suboxone telemedicine.

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