Later in 2025, our team will launch the OPEN Warmline, offering same-day telehealth prescribing for buprenorphine for people in the State of Michigan who use opioids. Telehealth visits can be done by a video visit or phone.
OPEN Warmline services will accept all patients, but our initial efforts will focus on engagement of individuals returning to the community from incarceration.
The OPEN Warmline Clinic is staffed by a team of care coordinators, a nurse care manager, peer recovery coaches and medical providers to provide same-day prescriptions for buprenorphine to treat opioid withdrawal and addiction. Through our telehealth services, we provide fast and easy access to buprenorphine, a life-saving medication.
A person calling the OPEN Warmline will be connected to a Warmline Navigator. After a quick registration, callers will talk with a medical provider via telehealth that same day to determine the best plan for the caller’s needs. If a prescription is needed, the provider can prescribe buprenorphine. After the visit, the Warmline team will check-in with the caller to ensure they received the medication from the pharmacy, and it is working as intended. Warmline Navigators will also assist the caller in finding a local long-term treatment provider and if desired, connected to a peer recovery coach.
*If at any point, the OPEN Warmline cannot meet a patient’s care needs, Warmline staff will link the patient to a provider that can provide the needed medical or substance use service.
Buprenorphine, also referred to as “bupe” or its brand name Suboxone, is an FDA approved medication that has been proven to reduce withdrawal symptoms and cravings in people who use opioids. Buprenorphine has also been proven to reduce the risk of overdose deaths.
Buprenorphine is safe to use for short-term treatment or long-treatment and is used by some people for years or the rest of their lives.
Buprenorphine is available as an oral medication that is taken daily, or available as a long-acting injectable medication. The Warmline is only able to prescribe oral medication but can connect patients to in-person treatment if they are interested in treatment with long-acting injectable buprenorphine.
Examples of opioids include heroin and prescription pills like oxycodone (Percocet, OxyContin), hydrocodone (Vicodin), codeine, fentanyl, and morphine.
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