- A Kaiser Health News article discusses how relaxed legal requirements for clinicians to prescribe buprenorphine has the potential to improve outcomes for patients with substance use disorder, but stigma around prescribing the medication still exists. One study from 2021 shows that taking buprenorphine or methadone, another opioid agonist treatment, reduces the mortality risk for people with opioid dependence by 50 percent. In 2021, a national survey showed that just 22 percent of people with opioid use disorder received medications such as buprenorphine and methadone. The test of whether clinicians will step up and if prescribing will become more widespread is underway in hospitals and clinics across the country as patients struggling with addiction queue up for treatment. (Article here)
March 22, 2023
Opioid/Substance Use Disorders | Tea Leaves