• District of Columbia: HHS and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) last week posted a final rule that will allow patients with opioid use disorder to receive treatment through telehealth. Under the rule, opioid treatment programs can provide buprenorphine treatment through audio-only or audio-visual telehealth. Programs can also provide methadone treatment for some patients through audio-visual telehealth. According to SAMHSA, the final rule permanently expands telehealth flexibilities that were initially put into place during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the agency noted that individual states may choose to implement regulations that are more restrictive than the final rule. The final rule will go into effect on April 2, 60 days after it was published in the Federal Register. (Turner, Modern Healthcare, 2/1)
• District of Columbia: The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) recently opened up applications to help run the country's organ transplant system. Currently, the United States' organ transplant network is run by the nonprofit United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). However, investigations of the network found it had poor technological infrastructure and that patients faced long wait times, as well as inequities in organ allocation. Last year, HRSA announced plans to overhaul the U.S. organ transplant system by breaking up some of the functions performed by UNOS. This week, HRSA issued draft requests seeking multiple vendors for different functions of the transplant system. The agency is also planning to create a new board of directors that is independent from UNOS' board. However, HRSA noted that the "scope and scale" of the new contracts awarded will depend on whether Congress provides more funding to support modernization efforts. (Goldman, Axios, 2/7)
• Washington: Amazon on Tuesday announced that it is cutting "a few hundred roles" in its One Medical and pharmacy divisions. According to Neil Lindsay, SVP at Amazon Health Services, the layoffs will allow the company to "invest in inventions and experiences that have a direct impact on our customers and members of all ages." While some affected employees may move into new roles at Amazon, others will be offered financial support and career assistance, Lindsay said. However, even with these layoffs, Amazon is expected to continue to grow its healthcare strategy. In a separate statement, Lindsay said that the company has seen "very strong momentum and positive customer feedback" across its healthcare services and plans to continue investing in these areas. (Hudson, Modern Healthcare, 2/6; Palmer, CNBC, 2/6)

Learn about three potential growth strategies for Amazon One Medical and the early moves that signal which approach they might take.