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Rise and regional disparities in buprenorphine utilization in the United States
- Source :
- Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safetyREFERENCES. 29(6)
- Publication Year :
- 2019
-
Abstract
- Buprenorphine is an opioid partial agonist used to treat opioid use disorder. While several policy changes have attempted to increase buprenorphine availability, access remains well below optimal levels. This study characterized how buprenorphine utilization in the United States has changed over time and whether there are regional disparities in distribution of the medication.The amount of buprenorphine distributed from 2007 to 2017 was obtained from the Drug Enforcement Administration's Automated Reports and Consolidated Ordering System. Data were expressed as the percent change and milligrams per person in each state. The formulations and cost for prescriptions covered by Medicaid (2008 to 2018) were also examined.Buprenorphine distributed to pharmacies increased about 7-fold (476.8 to 3179.9 kg) while the quantities distributed to hospitals grew 5-fold (18.6 to 97.6 kg) nationally from 2007 to 2017. Buprenorphine distribution per person was almost 20-fold higher in Vermont (40.4 mg/person) relative to South Dakota (2.1 mg/person). There was a strong association between the number of physicians authorized to prescribe buprenorphine and distribution per state (r[49] = +0.94, P .0005). The buprenorphine/naloxone sublingual film (Suboxone) was the predominant formulation (92.6% of 0.31 million Medicaid prescriptions) in 2008 but accounted for less than three-fifth (57.3% of 6.56 million prescriptions) in 2018.Although buprenorphine availability has substantially increased over the last decade, distribution was very nonhomogeneous across the United States.
- Subjects :
- Time Factors
Epidemiology
Drug Compounding
Pharmacy
030226 pharmacology & pharmacy
Partial agonist
Drug Prescriptions
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
medicine
Humans
Pharmacology (medical)
030212 general & internal medicine
Medical prescription
Healthcare Disparities
Practice Patterns, Physicians'
business.industry
Medicaid
Opioid use disorder
Pharmacoepidemiology
medicine.disease
Opioid-Related Disorders
Drug Utilization
United States
Buprenorphine
Analgesics, Opioid
Buprenorphine, Naloxone Drug Combination
Opiate
business
Demography
medicine.drug
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 10991557
- Volume :
- 29
- Issue :
- 6
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safetyREFERENCES
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....c11bcecbbff52905b838616bdb7dec18