As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has temporarily relaxed restrictions to serve people who are opioid dependent during social distancing mandates. Changes include allowing patients to take home more doses of methadone and buprenorphine rather than coming to the clinic every day (for methadone) or weekly (for buprenorphine) and relaxed restrictions on telehealth delivery. Telemedicine Program representatives have described the relaxing of federal regulations as a "silver lining" to the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing from medical anthropology approaches to epidemic surveillance and understandings of risk, we critically evaluate media representations of recent changes to telemedicine, prescribing, and opioid treatment delivery. Ethnographic research with providers and stakeholders in Arizona from 2017 to the present add insight to our analysis of media reports on these topics. Our findings demonstrate that media portrayal of access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) as the key to preventing both COVID-19 and overdose among people who are opioid dependent misses important risks and potential inequities. Applied social science questions raised by the new guidelines include: who receives take-home doses of methadone and buprenorphine and why; and how media representations of risk and benefit rationales shape real-world policy and practice.

中文翻译：

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另一个一线希望？：人类学观点在COVID-19的背景下放宽对远程医疗和药物辅助治疗的限制的承诺和实践。

作为对COVID-19大流行的回应，美国禁毒署（DEA）暂时放宽了限制，以在社会疏散任务期间为依赖阿片类药物的人群提供服务。变化包括允许患者在家中服用更多剂量的美沙酮和丁丙诺啡，而不是每天（对于美沙酮）或每周一次（对于丁丙诺啡）去诊所，以及放宽对远程医疗的限制。远程医疗计划的代表将放松联邦法规描述为对COVID-19大流行的“一线希望”。从医学人类学方法到流行病监测和对风险的了解，我们对远程医疗，处方和阿片类药物治疗的近期变化的媒体表现进行了严格的评估。从2017年至今，我们与亚利桑那州的提供者和利益相关者进行了人种学研究，这为我们对有关这些主题的媒体报道的分析提供了见识。我们的研究结果表明，媒体对获得药物辅助治疗（MAT）的描述是预防阿片类药物依赖人群中COVID-19和过量用药的关键，但它却遗漏了重要的风险和潜在的不平等现象。新准则提出的应用社会科学问题包括：谁可以带回家服用美沙酮和丁丙诺啡，为什么？以及媒体对风险和收益原理的表述如何塑造现实世界的政策和实践。我们的研究结果表明，媒体对获得药物辅助治疗（MAT）的描述是预防阿片类药物依赖人群中COVID-19和过量用药的关键，但它却遗漏了重要的风险和潜在的不平等现象。新准则提出的应用社会科学问题包括：谁可以带回家服用美沙酮和丁丙诺啡，为什么？以及媒体对风险和收益原理的表述如何塑造现实世界的政策和实践。我们的研究结果表明，媒体对获得药物辅助治疗（MAT）的描述是预防阿片类药物依赖人群中COVID-19和过量用药的关键，但它却遗漏了重要的风险和潜在的不平等现象。新准则提出的应用社会科学问题包括：谁可以带回家服用美沙酮和丁丙诺啡，为什么？以及媒体对风险和收益原理的表述如何塑造现实世界的政策和实践。