On April 12th, the Ohio Society of Addiction Medicine (OHSAM) sent a comment letter to the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (MHAS) in support of proposed rules introducing mobile opioid treatment program (OTP) units. These proposed rule changes would allow for the introduction of mobile medication units affiliated with OTPs in areas of high need throughout the state.

In the letter, OHSAM praised MHAS’s proposed rule changes as a positive policy step. OHSAM noted that methadone is an evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), but it is only available through a highly regulated system of OTPs. As such, there are only a limited number of brick-and-mortar OTP locations throughout the state. OHSAM explained that OTP locations are often concentrated in urban areas, leaving large areas of the state without any accessibility to the treatment services provided. As such, the introduction of mobile medication would help address gaps in access especially for rural and underserved communities. Further, OHSAM encouraged MHAS to remove location restrictions for mobile medication units in the final rule, stressing the need to expand access as widely as possible throughout the state.

Read the letter here.