Drug and alcohol dependence
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Nov 2019
U.S. trends in the supply of providers with a waiver to prescribe buprenorphine for opioid use disorder in 2016 and 2018.
Healthcare providers can receive waivers to prescribe buprenorphine for opioid use disorder, an evidence-based medication. The United States federal government has undertaken numerous recent efforts to expand access to waivers. This study describes national trends in the U.S. in 2016 and 2018, geospatial characteristics of waivered providers, and the association of county characteristics with patient treatment capacity. ⋯ The availability of waivered providers to prescribe buprenorphine increased from 2016 to 2018, while disparities persisted. More research is needed to understand how changes in availability of waivered prescribers impact population health.