The U.S. Senate passed sweeping legislation to address the nation’s opioid crisis on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, including measures authored by U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz. Schatz’s provisions would fund new research on non-addictive, non-opioid alternatives to treat and prevent pain and expand the use of telehealth to treat opioid addiction.

“Opioid addiction is a national epidemic, and we need a comprehensive approach to address it,” said Sen. Schatz. “Our bill will use technology to help connect health care professionals with more patients and help providers access the continuing education they need to treat addiction. It also invests in more research to find alternative treatments for pain so that we can try to stop opioid addiction before it starts.”

The Schatz provisions will: