In 2017, Ohio increased its number of buprenorphine-approved prescribers by 266. This was the result of a $2.3 million dollar Federal grant that provided state-wide training to doctors, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants as reported by Cleveland.com.
Historically, Ohio had numerous communities that were underserved with 19 counties having no buprenorphine providers at the beginning of 2017. The number of counties without buprenorphine access has presently been dropped to just 10. This increase in approved Ohio physicians will allow many more individuals to gain access to life-saving opioid addiction treatment.
The linked article above reports that additional trainings will be made available in 2018 in order to bring buprenorphine services to all areas of Ohio. In related news, a National Budget proposal aims to earmark $13 billion in new funding over years 2018 and 2019 in order to fight back the ongoing opioid crisis. How much money is ultimately allocated for this purpose will be determined by Congress.