Work

Barriers Rural Physicians Face Prescribing Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder

Year: 2017

Type: article

Abstract: Opioid use disorder is a serious public health problem. Management with buprenorphine is an effective, office-based, medication-assisted treatment, but 60.1% of rural counties in the United States lack a physician with a Drug Enforcement Agency waiver to prescribe buprenorphine. This national study surveyed all rural physicians who have received a waiver in the United States and found that those who were not actively prescribing buprenorphine reported significantly more barriers than those who were, regardless of whether they were treating the maximum number of patients their waiver allowed. These findings suggest the need for tailored strategies to address barriers to providing buprenorphine for opioid use disorder and to support physicians who are adding or maintaining this service.

Source: The Annals of Family Medicine

DOI: 10.1370/afm.2099

Authors: C. Holly A. Andrilla, Cynthia Coulthard, Eric H. Larson

Institution: University of Washington

Language: English

Topic: Opioid Use Disorder Treatment

Subfield: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: diamond

Funders: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Office of Rural Health, Federal Office of Rural Health Policy