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Physicians and advanced practice providers at Bicycle Health -- which provides telehealth treatment to patients with opioid use disorder in more than 30 states -- have filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to unionize with the Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD).

Founded in 2017, Bicycle Health focuses on "combining medication for opioid use disorder with behavioral healthcare, drug screening, therapy, and peer support," .

"In the wake of the devastating toll of opioid-related overdoses and deaths, many of us joined Bicycle Health in order to help fulfill its mission to increase access to high-quality, affordable opioid use disorder treatment for all," the clinicians said in a . "But over the years, there has been a shift in company culture where we as providers feel increasingly overworked, undervalued, and our feedback is regularly ignored. In order to continue providing the best care for our patients struggling with opioid addiction, we knew we needed to come together."

"Having a collective voice as a union will allow us to better advocate for ourselves, our patients, and their families and communities that carry the weight of all the lives lost from lack of access to treatment," they added.

The benefits of telehealth include expanded access to care for patients in need, and greater flexibility for the physicians and other professionals providing that care.

"With the rise of telehealth in 2020, we anticipated it was only a matter of time before the providers would start to unionize," said Stuart Bussey, MD, JD, president of the UAPD, in a statement. "The tech industry prides itself on being innovative and disruptive, but it shouldn't come at the cost of providers and their ability to provide quality patient care. Telehealth providers deserve the same protections and rights as on-site providers."

Overall, there are nearly 70 employees eligible to vote, according to , including a number of physicians, in addition to physician assistants and nurse practitioners.

Increasingly, healthcare providers involved in unionization efforts have said that they have been motivated and encouraged by watching each other.

Accordingly, a recent resurgence in organizing activity has yet to slow down, with interest continuing to grow across a variety of groups. Efforts this year have included those by anesthesiologists at Beverly Anesthesiology and Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, who voted in favor of joining the UAPD, as well as more than 600 advanced practice providers at the Oregon Health & Science University Hospital system in Portland, who announced their intent to join the Oregon Nurses Association.

In a statement from Bicycle Health provided to 番茄社区app in an email, the company said, "We have a solid relationship with our medical team and we're deeply engaged with them in our efforts to deliver excellent care for people with opioid use disorder."

"Stakeholders from our medical team are involved in every major decision we make in the organization, and every bit of feedback they provide is considered in the decisions we make for our business," the company added in part.

Ballots for eligible voters at Bicycle Health will be mailed this month and counted in April.

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