Need anti-withdrawal meds? In King County, call this 24/7 hotline

People addicted to opioids in King County can call a new hotline and get a prescription right away for a drug that can help. Buprenorphine reduces symptoms of withdrawal and can help people stay off fentanyl and other opioids.

Buprenorphine “does cut overdose risk by 50%, and so we want to make sure it’s available when people want it,” Brad Finegood, with Public Health - Seattle & King County, told Seattle City Council members on Wednesday. The agency funds, and UW Medicine administers, the hotline.

The "tele-bup" hotline is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for anyone 13 and older in King County who’s addicted to opioids. When people call, they’re connected to a UW Medicine emergency physician, who can send a buprenorphine prescription to a pharmacy near them.

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“Historically, starting treatment included jumping through all these hoops,” said Dr. Lauren Whiteside, a UW emergency physician who helped conceive the hotline and is one of 15 providers who answer the phone. “This program harnesses that exact moment [when someone is ready to start treatment] with a lot of support … so starting treatment doesn’t feel like this insurmountable task.”

Within three days of that initial call, a care coordinator follows up with the patient to check that they picked up the prescription, make sure they feel OK (meaning the dose is reducing their withdrawal symptoms and side effects are minimal), and to connect them to ongoing care. It often takes five to 10 calls to get back in touch with patients — who can have busy, complicated lives — but the hotline has successfully connected more than half of its patients to ongoing care.

Patients who use the hotline must be located in Washington state at the time of the call. Calling the hotline is free, though buprenorphine itself can require insurance or cost money.

Buprenorphine doesn’t make people “high.” It also has a lower risk for overdose and is therefore considered safer (and is less regulated) than methadone.

“Patients that are on medications such as buprenorphine have better health, better outcomes, and stay alive,” Whiteside said.

Use of the Telebup hotline has picked up considerably this summer. In the first six months of the hotline, providers called in 210 buprenorphine prescriptions. Since the beginning of July, they’ve called in 96 prescriptions.

About one third of the hotline’s patients are already taking medication for opioid use disorder, but ran out and need a “bridge” prescription until they can see their regular provider. Patients using the hotline can only receive up to two buprenorphine prescriptions within a two-week period.

The hotline is modeled off a similar program in Rhode Island. It’s one of the county’s many programs that aim to reduce overdose deaths and help people suffering from addiction.

Overdose deaths in King County are down about 15% from 2023, though still higher than they were in 2022.

“One overdose is unacceptable,” Finegood from Public Health said, “but it gives us a little bit of hope that overdoses are starting to trend down.”

To reach the hotline, call 206-289-0287.