A population-based examination of trends and disparities in medication treatment for opioid use disorders among Medicaid enrollees

Knowledge, experiences, and perceptions of medications for opioid use disorder among Black Kentuckians

BACKGROUND

Opioid overdoses have continued to increase at higher rates among Black Americans compared to people from other racial groups. Despite demonstrated effectiveness of MOUD in reducing risk of opioid overdose, Black Americans face decreased access to and uptake of MOUD. The current study aimed to examine the knowledge, perceptions, and experiences with MOUD among a sample of Black adults who use prescription opioids nonmedically in order to inform tailored efforts to improve MOUD uptake.

METHODS

Data were derived from a larger study assessing cultural and structural influences on drug use and drug treatment among people who use prescription opioids nonmedically. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 34 Black men and women across four generational cohorts: born 1955-1969; 1970-1979; 1980-1994; and 1995-2001. Participant responses were analyzed using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Nearly half of participants (44.1%) reported no knowledge or experience with MOUD. Among participants who had any knowledge about MOUD, four major themes regarding their perceptions emerged: MOUD Helps with Recovery; Not Needed for Level of Drug Use; Side Effects and Withdrawal; Equivalence with Illicit Drug Use. The majority reported negative perceptions of MOUD (52.6%), and the youngest cohort (born 1995-2001) had a higher proportion of negative perceptions (80%) relative to other age cohorts (born 1980-1994: 50%; 1970-1979: 75%; 1955-1969: 16.6%).

DISCUSSION

Findings indicate a significant knowledge gap and clear points of intervention for improving MOUD uptake. Interventions to improve communication of health information in ways that are culturally relevant and tailored by age group can be used in conjunction with efforts to improve MOUD access among Black individuals who use opioids nonmedically.

LatinX harm reduction capital, medication for opioid use disorder, and nonfatal overdose: A structural equation model analysis among people who use drugs in Massachusetts

BACKGROUND

We introduce the concept of harm reduction capital (HRCap) as the combination of knowledge, resources, and skills related to substance use risk reduction, which we hypothesize to predict MOUD use and opioid overdose. In this study, we explored the interrelationships between ethnicity, HRCap, nonfatal overdose, and MOUD use among PWUD.

METHODS

Between 2017 and 2019, people who currently or in the past used opioids and who lived in Massachusetts completed a one-time survey on substance use history, treatment experiences, and use of harm reduction services. We fit first-order measurement constructs for positive and negative HRCap (facilitators and barriers). We used generalized structural equation models to examine the inter-relationships of the latent constructs with LatinX self-identification, past year overdose, and current use of MOUD.

RESULTS

HRCap barriers were positively associated with past-year overdose (b=2.6, p<0.05), and LatinX self-identification was inversely associated with HRCap facilitators (b=-0.49, p<0.05). There was no association between overdose in the past year and the current use of MOUD. LatinX self-identification was positively associated with last year methadone treatment (b=0.89, p<0.05) but negatively associated with last year buprenorphine treatment (b=-0.68, p<0.07). Latinx PWUD reported lower positive HRCap than white non-LatinX PWUD and had differential utilization of MOUD.

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicate that a recent overdose was not associated with the current use of MOUD, highlighting a severe gap in treatment utilization among individuals at the highest risk. The concept of HRCap and its use in the model highlight substance use treatment differences, opportunities for intervention, and empowerment.

Impact of overdose on health plan disenrollment among patients prescribed long-term opioids: Retrospective cohort study

CONTEXT

Health plan disenrollment may disrupt chronic or preventive care for patients prescribed long-term opioid therapy (LTOT).

PURPOSE

To assess whether overdose events in patients prescribed LTOT are associated with subsequent health plan disenrollment.

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort study.

SETTING AND DATASET

Data from the Optum Labs Data Warehouse which includes de-identified medical and pharmacy claims and enrollment records for commercial and Medicare Advantage enrollees. The database contains longitudinal health information on patients, representing a mixture of ages and geographical regions across the United States.

PATIENTS

Adults prescribed stable opioid therapy (≥10 morphine milligram equivalents/day) for a 6-month baseline period prior to an index opioid prescription from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018.

MAIN MEASURES

Health plan disenrollment during follow-up.

RESULTS

The cohort comprised 404,151 patients who were followed up after 800,250 baseline periods of stable opioid dosing. During a mean follow-up of 9.1 months, unadjusted disenrollment rates among primary commercial beneficiaries and Medicare Advantage enrollees were 37.2 and 13.9 per 100 person-years, respectively. Incident overdoses were associated with subsequent health plan disenrollment with a statistically significantly stronger association among primary commercial insurance beneficiaries [adjusted incidence rate ratio (aIRR) 1.48 (95% CI: 1.33-1.64)] as compared to Medicare Advantage enrollees [aIRR 1.15 (95% CI: 1.07-1.23)].

CONCLUSIONS

Among patients prescribed long-term opioids, overdose events were strongly associated with subsequent health plan disenrollment, especially among primary commercial insurance beneficiaries. These findings raise concerns about the social consequences of overdose, including potential health insurance loss, which may limit patient access to care at a time of heightened vulnerability.

Association of mental health related quality of life and other factors with treatment seeking for substance use disorders: A comparison of SUDs rooted in legal, partially legal, and illegal substances

The association of subjective mental health-related quality of life (MHRQOL) and treatment use among people experiencing common substance use disorders (SUDs) is not known. Furthermore, the association of a given substance's legal status with treatment use has not been studied. This work aims determine the association of MHRQOL with SUD treatment use, and how substance legal status modulates this relationship. Our analysis used nationally-representative data from the NESARC-III database of those experiencing past-year SUDs (n = 5,808) to compare rates of treatment use and its correlates among three groups: those with illicit substance use disorders (ISUDs); those with partially legal substance use disorders, i.e., cannabis use disorder (CUD); and those with fully legal substance use disorders, i.e., alcohol use disorder (AUD). Survey-weighted multiple regression analysis was used to assess the association of MHRQOL with likelihood of treatment use among these three groups, both unadjusted and adjusted for sociodemographic, behavioral, and diagnostic factors. Adults with past-year ISUDs were significantly more likely to use treatment than those with CUD and AUD. Among those with ISUDs, MHRQOL had no significant association with likelihood of treatment use. Those with past-year CUD saw significant negative association of MHRQOL with treatment use in unadjusted analysis, but not after controlling for diagnostic and other behavioral health factors. Those with past-year AUD had significant negative association of MHRQOL with treatment use in both unadjusted and adjusted analysis. If legalization and decriminalization continue, there may be a greater need for effective public education and harm reduction services to address this changing SUD landscape.

Trends and Disparities in Perinatal Opioid Use Disorder Treatment in Medicaid, 2007-2012

We described Medicaid-insured women by receipt of perinatal opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment; and trends and disparities in treatment. Using 2007 to 2012 Medicaid Analytic eXtract data from 45 states and D.C., we identified deliveries among women with OUD. Regressions modeled the association between patient characteristics and receipt of any OUD treatment, medication for OUD (MOUD), and counseling alone during the perinatal period. Rates of any OUD treatment and MOUD for women with perinatal OUD increased over the study period, but trends differed by subgroup. Compared with non-Hispanic White women, Black and American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) women were less likely to receive any OUD treatment, and Black women were less likely to receive MOUD. Over time, the disparity in receipt of MOUD between Black and White women increased. Overall gains in OUD treatment were driven by improvements in perinatal OUD care for White women and obscured disparities for Black and AI/AN women.

Association between comorbid chronic pain or prior hospitalization for mental illness and substance use treatment among a cohort at high risk of opioid overdose

INTRODUCTION

Chronic pain and serious mental illness increase risk of opioid use, and opioid use can exacerbate both conditions. Substance use disorder (SUD) treatment can be lifesaving, but chronic pain and serious mental illness may make recovery challenging. We evaluated the association between current chronic pain and prior hospitalization for mental illness and 90-day SUD treatment engagement, among emergency department (ED) patients at high risk of opioid overdose.

METHODS

We conducted a cohort analysis of 648 ED patients enrolled in a randomized controlled trial in Rhode Island. We linked baseline study data on chronic pain and prior hospitalization for mental illness to statewide administrative data on state-licensed treatment programs (including methadone) and buprenorphine treatment via prescription. We defined treatment engagement as initiation of a state-licensed treatment program, transfer between state-licensed programs/providers, or a buprenorphine prescription (re-)fill. We used modified Poisson models to estimate the association between each baseline comorbidity and treatment engagement within 90 days following the ED visit, adjusted for a priori potential confounders. In an exploratory analysis, models were stratified by baseline treatment status.

RESULTS

The mean age of participants was 37 years; 439 (68 %) were male, and 446 (69 %) had been recently unhoused. Overall, 278 participants (43 %) engaged in treatment within 90 days of the ED visit. Participants with prior hospitalization for mental illness were more likely to engage in treatment than those without (adjusted risk ratio [ARR] = 1.24, 95 % confidence interval [CI] = 1.01-1.53), although this association was only among those already accessing treatment at baseline (ARR = 1.58, 95 % CI = 1.10-2.27). Chronic pain was not associated with 90-day treatment engagement overall (ARR = 1.12, 95 % CI = 0.91-1.38) or within baseline treatment subgroups.

CONCLUSIONS

Among ED patients at high risk of opioid overdose and accessing treatment at baseline, those with prior hospitalization for mental illness (but not chronic pain) were more likely to engage in treatment following the ED visit, which may reflect disproportionate initiation of additional treatment programs, transfer between programs/providers, or ongoing buprenorphine treatment. Touchpoints within the medical system should be leveraged to ensure that everyone, including those with serious mental illness, can access high-quality SUD treatment at the desired intensity level.

Substance Use Overdose Deaths Among Black and Indigenous Women in Wisconsin: A Review of Death Certificate Data From 2018 to 2020

OBJECTIVES

We are in the midst of an overdose epidemic that has grown during the concurrent COVID-19 pandemic. In Wisconsin, overdose deaths increased 11-fold from 2000 to 2020, with over 1200 deaths in 2020. Because of disparities in substance use initiation, relapse, and treatment success among racially minoritized women, this study's purpose was to investigate overdose death rates among Black and Indigenous women in Wisconsin from 2018 to 2020.

METHODS

Overdose death rates were examined under the following parameters: sex, race (Black, Indigenous, White), age, year, and manner of death. Logistic regression analysis was also conducted looking at death count data, with race, age, and year as potential predictor variables.

RESULTS

Death rates (per 100,000) in 2018 were 14.1 (12.6-15.5) for White women, 20.8 (14.7-26.9) for Black women, and 26.5 (10.0-42.9) for Indigenous women; these rates increased in 2020 to 16.4 (14.8-17.9), 32.5 (25.0-40.0), and 59.9 (35.8-84.0) for White, Black, and Indigenous women, respectively. Regression findings illustrated that being Black or Indigenous and aged 15 to 44 or 45 to 64 years were significantly more likely to die from most causes of death (any drug, any opioid, prescription opioid, heroin, synthetic opioids, and cocaine; adjusted odds ratios > 1.25, P s < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

This study confirms that deaths in Wisconsin are disproportionately higher in female minoritized populations. Understanding the complex intricacies between the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with barriers to treatment access or acceptability in these populations is urgently needed. It will take a multipronged approach to address the overdose epidemic and better serve these marginalized, vulnerable populations.

Is there a disparity in medications for opioid use disorder based on race/ethnicity and gender? A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Access to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) among racial/ethnic minorities is a growing concern.

OBJECTIVES

Inequalities in receiving MOUD among gender and racial/ethnic groups were examined in this systematic review.

METHODS

Studies were retrieved by searching various databases and reference lists of reviews and selected full texts. Adjusted Odds Ratios (AORs) comparing MOUDs among racial/ethnic minorities to Whites were extracted or estimated from their findings. Meta-analysis was performed using STATA 17.

RESULTS

After screening 2438 records, 19 studies were included in this review in two categories. The first category consists of 11 studies comparing receiving MOUD between different races/ethnicities and genders at the individual level. The meta-analysis regarding AORs comparing Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans/Alaska-Natives, Hawaiians, and mixed-race patients with Whites were 0.56 (95 % CI: 0.45-0.68), 0.72 (95 % CI: 0.55-0.94), 0.85 (95 % CI: 0.72-0.99), 0.88 (95%CI: 0.73-1.04), 0.27 (95 % CI: 0.03-2.18), and 0.97 (95 % CI: 0.81-1.16), respectively. The AOR of receiving MOUD for all minorities compared to Whites was 0.70 (95 % CI: 0.61-0.80). Overall AOR comparing MOUD for females to males was 0.95 (95 % CI: 0.87-1.04). The second category of articles compared buprenorphine and methadone treatment among ethnic/racial minorities and Whites.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared to Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians have limited access to MOUD. The findings suggest that methadone is the predominant medication for racial/ethnic minorities, while Whites and high-income communities receive buprenorphine more. It is crucial to re-design policies to bridge the gap in access to MOUD.

Utilization of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Among West Virginia Medicaid Enrollees Following Medicaid Coverage of Methadone

BACKGROUND

West Virginia entered an institution for mental disease Section 1115 waiver with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in 2018, which allowed Medicaid to cover methadone at West Virginia's nine opioid treatment programs (OTPs) for the first time.

METHODS

We conducted time trend and geospatial analyses of Medicaid enrollees between 2016 and 2019 to examine medications for opioid use disorder utilization patterns following Medicaid coverage of methadone, focusing on distance to an OTP as a predictor of initiating methadone and conditional on receiving any, longer treatment duration.

RESULTS

Following Medicaid coverage of methadone in 2018, patients receiving methadone comprised 9.5% of all Medicaid enrollees with an opioid use disorder (OUD) diagnosis and 10.6% in 2019 (P < 0.01). In 2018, two-thirds of methadone patients either had no prior OUD diagnosis or were not previously enrolled in Medicaid in our observation period. Patients residing within 20 miles of an OTP were more likely to receive methadone (marginal effect [ME]: -0.041, P < 0.001). Similarly, patients residing in metropolitan areas were more likely to receive treatment than those residing in nonmetropolitan areas (ME: -0.019, P < 0.05). Metropolitan patients traveled an average of 15 miles to an OTP; nonmetropolitan patients traveled more than twice as far (P < 0.001). We found no significant association between distance and treatment duration.

CONCLUSIONS

West Virginia Medicaid's new methadone coverage was associated with an influx of new enrollees with OUD, many of whom had no previous OUD diagnosis or prior Medicaid enrollment. Methadone patients frequently traveled far distances for treatment, suggesting that the state needs additional OTPs and innovative methadone delivery models to improve availability.

Utilization and disparities in medication treatment for opioid use disorder among patients with comorbid opioid use disorder and chronic pain during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic's impact on utilization of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) among patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) and chronic pain is unclear.

METHODS

We analyzed New York State (NYS) Medicaid claims from pre-pandemic (August 2019-February 2020) and pandemic (March 2020-December 2020) periods for beneficiaries with and without chronic pain. We calculated monthly proportions of patients with OUD diagnoses in 6-month-lookback windows utilizing MOUD and proportions of treatment-naïve patients initiating MOUD. We used interrupted time series to assess changes in MOUD utilization and initiation rates by medication type and by race/ethnicity.

RESULTS

Among 20,785 patients with OUD and chronic pain, 49.3% utilized MOUD (versus 60.3% without chronic pain). The pandemic did not affect utilization in either group but briefly disrupted initiation among patients with chronic pain (β=-0.009; 95% CI [-0.015, -0.002]). Overall MOUD utilization was not affected by the pandemic for any race/ethnicity but opioid treatment program (OTP) utilization was briefly disrupted for non-Hispanic Black individuals (β=-0.007 [-0.013, -0.001]). The pandemic disrupted overall MOUD initiation in non-Hispanic Black (β=-0.007 [-0.012, -0.002]) and Hispanic individuals (β=-0.010 [-0.019, -0.001]).

CONCLUSIONS

Adults with chronic pain who were enrolled in NYS Medicaid before the COVID-19 pandemic had lower MOUD utilization than those without chronic pain. MOUD initiation was briefly disrupted, with disparities especially in racial/ethnic minority groups. Flexible MOUD policy initiatives may have maintained overall treatment utilization, but disparities in initiation and care continuity remain for patients with chronic pain, and particularly for racial/ethnic minoritized subgroups.

Differences in medicaid expansion effects on buprenorphine treatment utilization by county rurality and income: A pharmacy data claims analysis from 2009-2018

Background

Although use of buprenorphine for treating opioid use disorder increased over the past decade, buprenorphine utilization remains limited in lower-income and rural areas. We examine how the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion influenced buprenorphine initiation rates by county income and evaluate how associations differ by county rural-urban status.

Methods

This study used nationwide 2009-2018 IQVIA retail pharmacy data and a comparative interrupted time series framework-a hybrid framework combining regression discontinuity and difference-in-difference approaches. We used piecewise linear estimation to quantify changes in buprenorphine initiation rates before and after Medicaid expansion.

Results

The sample included observations from 376,704 county-months. We identified 5,227,340 new buprenorphine treatment episodes, with an average of 9.2 new buprenorphine episodes per month per 100,000 county residents. Among urban counties, those with the lowest median incomes experienced significantly larger increases in buprenorphine initiation rates associated with Medicaid expansion than counties with higher median incomes (5-year rates difference est=3525.3, se=1695.3, p = 0.04). However, among rural counties, there was no significant association between buprenorphine initiation rates and county median income after Medicaid expansion (5-year rates difference est=979.0, se=915.8, p = 0.29).

Conclusions

Medicaid expansion was associated with a reduction in income-related buprenorphine disparities in urban counties, but not in rural counties. To achieve more equitable buprenorphine access, future policies should target low-income rural areas.

Racial/ethnic disparities in timely receipt of buprenorphine among Medicare disability beneficiaries

BACKGROUND

Medicare disability beneficiaries (MDBs) have disproportionately high risk of opioid use disorder (OUD) and related harms given high rates of comorbidities and high-dose opioid prescribing. Despite this increased risk, little is known about timely receipt of medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD), including potential disparities by patient race/ethnicity or moderation by county-level characteristics.

METHODS

National Medicare claims for a sample of MDBs with incident OUD diagnosis between March 2016 and June 2019 were linked with county-level data. Multivariable mixed effects Cox proportional hazards models estimated time (in days) to buprenorphine receipt within 180 days of incident OUD diagnosis. Primary exposures included individual-level race/ethnicity and county-level buprenorphine prescriber availability, percent non-Hispanic white (NHW) residents, and Social Deprivation Index (SDI) score.

RESULTS

The sample (n=233,079) was predominantly White (72.3%), ≥45 years old (76.3%), and male (54.8%). Black (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]=0.50; 95% CI, 0.47-0.54), Asian/Pacific Islander (aHR=0.54; 95% CI, 0.41-0.72), Hispanic/Latinx (aHR=0.81; 95% CI, 0.76-0.87), and Other racial/ethnic groups (aHR=0.75; 95% CI, 0.58-0.97) had a lower likelihood of timely buprenorphine than non-Hispanic white beneficiaries after adjusting for individual and county-level confounders. Timely buprenorphine receipt was positively associated with county-level buprenorphine prescriber availability (aHR=1.05; 95% CI, 1.04-1.07), percent non-Hispanic white residents (aHR=1.01; 95% CI, 1.00-1.01), and SDI (aHR=1.06; 95% CI, 1.01-1.10).

CONCLUSIONS

Racial/ethnic disparities highlight the need to improve access to care for underserved groups. Implementing equity-focused quality and performance measures and developing interventions to increase office-based buprenorphine prescribing in predominantly minority race/ethnicity counties may reduce disparities in timely access to medication for OUD.

Buprenorphine deregulation as an opioid crisis policy response - A comparative analysis between France and the United States

BACKGROUND

In passing the Maintstreaming Addiction Treatment Act, the United States has abolished its federal X waiver, considered a major barrier to the wider buprenorphine prescribing needed to respond to opioid-related harms. Advocates for this policy have drawn on the French response of deregulating buprenorphine prescribing to address increasing overdose mortality around the turn of the millennium. So far, such policy advocacy has incompletely accounted for contextual and health system differences between the two countries.

METHODS

Using the health system dynamics framework, this analysis compares France from 1995 to 2003 (the relevant period of buprenorphine reform) to the US from 2018 until today (the comparison period to explore potential impacts of reform). We used it to guide examination of a) contextual issues relating to opioid use epidemiology and b) health system factors including prescriber supply, sector organization, and insurance coverage for primary care to draw relevant policy learning for the contemporary US.

RESULTS

We identified that the US had a 22.5-fold higher mortality rate and a 2.3-fold higher opioid use disorder (OUD) rate compared to France, despite having rates of prescribed buprenorphine per-capita higher than, and per-person with OUD comparable to, than that of France. These wide gulfs between the scales and nature of the problems between France and the US suggest that relaxing restrictions on buprenorphine prescribing through abolishing the X waiver will be insufficient for achieving hoped-for reductions in overdose mortality.

CONCLUSION

Health system strengthening with a focus on improvements in primary care prescriber supply, coverage, and coordination are likely higher yield policy complements to relaxing buprenorphine regulation. Such an approach would better prepare the US to adapt to ongoing dynamics and uncertainties in the opioid crisis and to optimize the already relatively high levels of buprenorphine prescribing.

Impact of COVID-19 on Behavioral Health Services Use Among Medicaid Enrollees with Chronic Behavioral Needs by Race and Ethnicity

The COVID-19 pandemic may widen the disparities in access to behavioral health (BH) services among groups that have been historically marginalized. However, the rapid expansion of telehealth presents an opportunity to reduce these disparities. The objective was to assess the impact of COVID-19 on BH visits, including in-person and telehealth, and BH treatments by different race and ethnicity groups. This was a retrospective, observational study using administrative claim data. Two cohorts were created: a before-COVID-19 group and a during-COVID-19 group. A difference-in-differences analysis was conducted to assess the access to BH-related visits between the 2 groups by different race and ethnicity groups. The study sample included 90,268 patients aged 18 to 64 years with repeated BH diagnoses in baseline periods and continuous medical and pharmacy enrollment. During the pandemic, BH telehealth visits surged, whereas the overall utilization of BH services, mental health medication, and counseling declined among all racial groups as the BH telehealth increase did not fully compensate for the reduction of in-person visits. Latino patients had a higher likelihood of using BH telehealth visits than White patients. However, Black patients had a lower likelihood of using substance use disorder (SUD) treatment than their White counterparts. Our results also suggested that care continuation and pre-established care-seeking behaviors are associated with increasing BH visits and treatments. As policy makers and payers are expanding offerings of telehealth visits, it is imperative to do so through a health equity lens and center the needs of groups that have been economically and socially marginalized to advance equitable adoption of telehealth.

Typology of laws restricting access to methadone treatment in the United States: A latent class analysis

BACKGROUND

In the United States, methadone treatment for opioid use disorder is only available at opioid treatment programs (OTPs). In addition to federal regulations, states can enact laws which shape access to OTPs. We aimed to define classes of states according to restrictiveness of state OTP laws and examine population characteristics associated with class membership.

METHODS

A set of laws was extracted from a database of statutes and regulations governing OTPs in 49 states and the District of Columbia as of June 2021. Latent class analysis of laws was used to estimate the probability of class membership for each state. Class-weighted multinomial logistic regression analysis assessed state-level correlates of class membership and adjusted Relative Risk Ratio (aRRR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were generated.

RESULTS

States (n = 50) were assigned to three classes; Class 1) High restrictiveness on patient experience, low restrictiveness on access to service (n = 13); Class 2) Medium restrictiveness on patient experience, high restrictiveness on access to service (n = 14); Class 3) Low restrictiveness on patient experience, low restrictiveness on access to service (n = 23). States with a higher probability of membership in Classes with higher restrictiveness had higher rates of unemployment (Class 1 vs Class 3, aRRR:1.24; 95%CI:1.06-1.45), and Black residents (Class 2 vs Class 3, aRRR:1.10; 95%CI:1.04-1.15), and lower likelihood of Medicaid coverage of methadone (Class 1 vs Class 3, aRRR:0.25; 95%CI:0.07-0.88). States with a higher probability of membership in Classes with higher restrictiveness also had higher rates of potential indicators for opioid use disorder treatment need, including rates of opioid dispensing (Class 1 vs Class 3, aRRR:1.06; 95%CI:1.02-1.10, Class 2 vs Class 3, aRRR:1.07; 95%CI:1.03-1.11) and HIV diagnoses attributed to injection (Class 1 vs Class 3, aRRR:3.92; 95%CI:1.25-12.22).

CONCLUSIONS

States with indicators of greater potential need for opioid use disorder treatment have the most restrictions, raising concerns about unmet treatment need.

Increasing overdose deaths among Black Americans: a review of the literature

In 2020, opioid overdose fatalities among Black Americans surpassed those among White Americans for the first time in US history. This Review analyses the academic literature on disparities in overdose deaths to highlight potential factors that could explain these increases in overdose deaths among Black Americans. Overall, we find that differences in structural and social determinants of health; inequality in the access, use, and continuity of substance use disorder and harm reduction services; variability in fentanyl exposure and risk; and changes in social and economic circumstances since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic are central to explaining this trend. We conclude with a discussion of opportunities for US policy reform and opportunities for future research.

Implementing Programs to Initiate Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment in High-Need, Low-Resource Emergency Departments: A Nonrandomized Controlled Trial

STUDY OBJECTIVE

We hypothesized that implementation facilitation would enable us to rapidly and effectively implement emergency department (ED)-initiated buprenorphine programs in rural and urban settings with high-need, limited resources and dissimilar staffing structures.

METHODS

This multicenter implementation study employed implementation facilitation using a participatory action research approach to develop, introduce, and refine site-specific clinical protocols for ED-initiated buprenorphine and referral in 3 EDs not previously initiating buprenorphine. We assessed feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness by triangulating mixed-methods formative evaluation data (focus groups/interviews and pre/post surveys involving staff, patients, and stakeholders), patients' medical records, and 30-day outcomes from a purposive sample of 40 buprenorphine-receiving patient-participants who met research eligibility criteria (English-speaking, medically stable, locator information, nonprisoners). We estimated the primary implementation outcome (proportion receiving ED-initiated buprenorphine among candidates) and the main secondary outcome (30-day treatment engagement) using Bayesian methods.

RESULTS

Within 3 months of initiating the implementation facilitation activities, each site implemented buprenorphine programs. During the 6-month programmatic evaluation, there were 134 ED-buprenorphine candidates among 2,522 encounters involving opioid use. A total of 52 (41.6%) practitioners initiated buprenorphine administration to 112 (85.1%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 79.7% to 90.4%) unique patients. Among 40 enrolled patient-participants, 49.0% (35.6% to 62.5%) were engaged in addiction treatment 30 days later (confirmed); 26 (68.4%) reported attending one or more treatment visits; there was a 4-fold decrease in self-reported overdose events (odds ratio [OR] 4.03; 95% CI 1.27 to 12.75). The ED clinician readiness increased by a median of 5.02 (95% CI: 3.56 to 6.47) from 1.92/10 to 6.95/10 (n(pre)=80, n(post)=83).

CONCLUSIONS

The implementation facilitation enabled us to effectively implement ED-based buprenorphine programs across heterogeneous ED settings rapidly, which was associated with promising implementation and exploratory patient-level outcomes.

Patient and Community Factors Affecting Treatment Access for Opioid Use Disorder

OBJECTIVE

To examine whether access to treatment for women with opioid use disorder (OUD) varied by race and ethnicity, community characteristics, and pregnancy status.

METHODS

We conducted a secondary data analysis of a simulated patient caller study of buprenorphine-waivered prescribers and opioid-treatment programs in 10 U.S. states. We conducted multivariable analyses, accounting for potential confounders, to evaluate factors associated with likelihood of successfully securing an appointment. Descriptive statistics and significance testing examined 1) caller characteristics and call outcome by assigned race and ethnicity and clinic type (combined, opioid-treatment programs, and buprenorphine-waivered prescribers) and 2) clinic and community characteristics and call outcome by community race and ethnicity distribution (majority White vs majority Black, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander) and clinic type. A multiple logistic regression model was fitted to assess the likelihood of obtaining an appointment by callers' race and ethnicity and pregnancy status with the exposure of interest being majority Black, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander community distribution.

RESULTS

In total, 3,547 calls reached clinics to schedule appointments. Buprenorphine-waivered prescribers were more likely to be in communities that were more than 50% White (88.9% vs 77.3%, P<.001), and opioid-treatment programs were more likely to be in communities that were less than 50% White (11.1% vs 22.7%, P<.001). Callers were more likely to be granted appointments in majority Black, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander communities (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.06, 95% CI 1.02-1.10 per 10% Black, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander community population) and at opioid-treatment programs (aOR 4.94, 95% CI 3.52-6.92) and if they were not pregnant (aOR 1.79, 95% CI 1.53-2.09).

CONCLUSION

Clinic distribution and likelihood of acceptance for treatment varied by community race and ethnicity distribution. Access to treatment for OUD remains challenging for pregnant people and in many historically marginalized U.S. communities.

Provision of Digital Health Technologies for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment by US Health Care Organizations

Importance

Digital health technologies may expand organizational capacity to treat opioid use disorder (OUD). However, it remains unclear whether these technologies serve as substitutes for or complements to traditional substance use disorder (SUD) treatment resources in health care organizations.

Objective

To characterize the use of patient-facing digital health technologies for OUD by US organizations with accountable care organization (ACO) contracts.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This cross-sectional study analyzed responses to the 2022 National Survey of Accountable Care Organizations (NSACO), collected between October 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022, from US organizations with Medicare and Medicaid ACO contracts. Data analysis was performed between December 15, 2022, and January 6, 2023.

Exposures

Treatment resources for SUD (eg, an addiction medicine specialist, sufficient staff to treat SUD, medications for OUD, a specialty SUD treatment facility, a registry to identify patients with OUD, or a registry to track mental health for patients with OUD) and organizational characteristics (eg, organization type, Medicaid ACO contract).

Main Outcomes and Measures

The main outcomes included survey-reported use of 3 categories of digital health technologies for OUD: remote mental health therapy and tracking, virtual peer recovery support programs, and digital recovery support for adjuvant cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). Statistical analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression models.

Results

Overall, 276 of 505 organizations responded to the NSACO (54.7% response rate), with a total of 304 respondents. Of these, 161 (53.1%) were from a hospital or health system, 74 (24.2%) were from a physician- or medical group-led organization, and 23 (7.8%) were from a safety-net organization. One-third of respondents (101 [33.5%]) reported that their organization used at least 1 of the 3 digital health technology categories, including remote mental health therapy and tracking (80 [26.5%]), virtual peer recovery support programs (46 [15.1%]), and digital recovery support for adjuvant CBT (27 [9.0%]). In an adjusted analysis, organizations with an addiction medicine specialist (average marginal effect [SE], 32.3 [4.7] percentage points; P < .001) or a registry to track mental health (average marginal effect [SE], 27.2 [3.8] percentage points; P < .001) were more likely to use at least 1 category of technology compared with otherwise similar organizations lacking these capabilities.

Conclusions and Relevance

In this cross-sectional study of 276 organizations with ACO contracts, organizations used patient-facing digital health technologies for OUD as complements to available SUD treatment capabilities rather than as substitutes for unavailable resources. Future studies should examine implementation facilitators to realize the potential of emerging technologies to support organizations facing health care practitioner shortages and other barriers to OUD treatment delivery.

National Trends in Buprenorphine Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder From 2007 to 2018

BACKGROUND

Buprenorphine is a key medication to treat opioid use disorder (OUD). Since its approval in 2002, buprenorphine access has grown markedly, spurred by major federal and state policy changes. This study characterizes buprenorphine treatment episodes during 2007 to 2018 with respect to payer, provider specialty, and patient demographics.

METHODS

In this observational cohort study, IQVIA Real World pharmacy claims data were used to characterize trends in buprenorphine treatment episodes across four time periods: 2007-2009, 2010-2012, 2013-2015, and 2016-2018.

RESULTS

In total, we identified more than 4.1 million buprenorphine treatment episodes among 2 540 710 unique individuals. The number of episodes doubled from 652 994 in 2007-2009 to 1 331 980 in 2016-2018. Our findings indicate that the payer landscape changed dramatically, with the most pronounced growth observed for Medicaid (increased from 17% of episodes in 2007-2009 to 37% of episodes in 2016-2018), accompanied by relative declines for both commercial insurance (declined from 35 to 21%) and self-pay (declined from 27 to 11%). Adult primary care providers (PCPs) were the dominant prescribers throughout the study period. The number of episodes among adults older than 55 increased more than 3-fold from 2007-2009 to 2016-2018. In contrast, youth under age 18 experienced an absolute decline in buprenorphine treatment episodes. Buprenorphine episodes increased in length from 2007-2018, particularly among adults over age 45.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings demonstrate that the U.S. experienced clear growth in buprenorphine treatment-particularly for older adults and Medicaid beneficiaries-reflecting some key health policy and implementation success stories. Yet, since the prevalence of OUD and fatal overdose rate have also approximately doubled during this period, the observed growth in buprenorphine treatment did not demonstrably impact the pronounced treatment gap. To date, only a minority of individuals with OUD currently receive treatment, indicating continued need for systemic efforts to equitably improve treatment uptake.

Racial and ethnic disparities in emergency department-initiated buprenorphine across five health care systems

BACKGROUND

Opioid overdose deaths have disproportionately impacted Black and Hispanic populations, in part due to disparities in treatment access. Emergency departments (EDs) serve as a resource for patients with opioid use disorder (OUD), many of whom have difficulty accessing outpatient addiction programs. However, inequities in ED treatment for OUD remain poorly understood.

METHODS

This secondary analysis examined racial and ethnic differences in buprenorphine access using data from EMBED, a study of 21 EDs across five health care systems evaluating a clinical decision support system for initiating ED buprenorphine. The primary outcome was receipt of buprenorphine, ED administered or prescribed. Hospital type (academic vs. community) was evaluated as an effect modifier. Hierarchical models with cluster effects for site and clinician were used to assess buprenorphine receipt by race and ethnicity.

RESULTS

Black patients were less likely to receive buprenorphine (6.4% [51/801] vs. White patients 8.5% [268/3154], odds ratio [OR] 0.59, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.45-0.78). This association persisted after adjusting for age, insurance, gender, clinician X-waiver, hospital type, and urbanicity (adjusted OR [aOR] 0.64, 95% CI 0.48-0.84) but not when discharge diagnosis was included (aOR 0.75, 95% CI 0.56-1.02). Hispanic patients were more likely to receive buprenorphine (14.8% [122/822] vs. non-Hispanic patients, 11.6% [475/4098]) in unadjusted (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.09-1.83) and adjusted models (aOR 1.41, 95% CI 1.08-1.83) but not including discharge diagnosis (aOR 1.32, 95% CI 0.99-1.77). Odds of buprenorphine were similar in academic and community EDs by race (interaction p = 0.97) and ethnicity (interaction p = 0.64).

CONCLUSIONS

Black patients with OUD were less likely to receive buprenorphine whereas Hispanic patients were more likely to receive buprenorphine in academic and community EDs. Differences were attenuated with discharge diagnosis, as fewer Black and non-Hispanic patients were diagnosed with opioid withdrawal. Barriers to medication treatment are heterogenous among patients with OUD; research must continue to address the multiple drivers of health inequities at the patient, clinician, and community level.

Examining the Primary Care Experience of Patients With Opioid Use Disorder: A Qualitative Study

OBJECTIVES

Despite substantial investment in expanding access to treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), overdose deaths continue to increase. Primary care holds enormous potential to expand access to OUD treatment, but few patients receive medications for OUD (MOUD) in primary care. Understanding both patient and clinician experiences is critical to expanding access to patient-centered MOUD care, yet relatively little research has examined patient perspectives on primary care-based MOUD. We sought to examine the care experiences of patients with OUD receiving medication-based treatment in a primary care setting.

METHODS

We conducted semistructured interviews with patients receiving MOUD at a single primary care site at the University of Utah. Interviews were performed and transcribed by qualitative researchers, who used rapid qualitative analysis using a grounded theory-based approach to identify key themes pertaining to patient experiences receiving medication-based OUD treatment in primary care.

RESULTS

Twenty-one patients were screened, and 14 completed the interview. In general, participants had numerous medical and psychiatric comorbidities. The following key themes pertaining to primary care-based OUD treatment were identified: (1) overall health improvement, (2) team-based care, (3) comparing primary care to specialty addiction treatment, (4) access to medications for OUD, and (5) discrimination and stigma.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients reported many advantages to receiving primary care-based MOUD treatment. In particular, the flexibility and added support of team-based care along with the convenience of receiving addiction treatment alongside regular medical care were highly valued. These findings can be used to develop patient-centered initiatives aimed at expanding OUD treatment within primary care.

Buprenorphine use and courses of care for opioid use disorder treatment within the Veterans Health Administration

BACKGROUND

Retention of patients in buprenorphine medication treatment for opioid use disorder (B-MOUD) reduces harms associated with opioid use disorder (OUD). We sought to characterize the patients receiving B-MOUD and courses of B-MOUD in a large healthcare system.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective, open cohort study of patients with OUD who either did or did not receive B-MOUD courses within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) from January 2006 through July 2019, using VHA clinical data. We compared patients receiving or not receiving B-MOUD, characterized B-MOUD courses (e.g., length and doses), and examined persistence, across patient characteristics, over time. We used analyses for normally or non-normally distributed continuous variables, categorical data, and persistence over time (Kaplan-Meier persistence curves).

RESULTS

We identified 255,726 Veterans with OUD; 40,431 (15.8%) had received 63,929 B-MOUD courses. Compared to patients with OUD without B-MOUD, patients with B-MOUD were younger, more often of white race, and had more co-morbidities. The frequency of new B-MOUD starts and prevalent B-MOUD patients ranged from 1550 and 1989 in 2007 to 8146 and 16,505 in 2018, respectively. The median duration of B-MOUD was 157 (IQR: 37-537) days for all courses and 33.8% patients had more than one course. The average proportion days covered was 90% (SD: 0.15), and the average prescribed daily dose was 13.44 (SD: 6.5).

CONCLUSIONS

Within a VHA B-MOUD cohort, courses increased more than 10-fold from 2006 to 2016 with nearly half of patients experiencing multiple courses. Patient demographics seem to dictate the length of courses.

Spatial access to buprenorphine-waivered prescribers in the HEALing communities study: Enhanced 2-step floating catchment area analyses in Massachusetts, Ohio, and Kentucky

INTRODUCTION

The opioid overdose epidemic continues to impact a large swath of the population in the US. Medications for opioid use disorders (MOUD) are an effective resource to combat the epidemic; however, there is limited research on MOUD treatment access that accounts for both supply of and demand for services. We aimed to examine access to buprenorphine prescribers in the HEALing Communities Study (HCS) Wave 2 communities in Massachusetts, Ohio, and Kentucky during 2021, and the association between buprenorphine access and opioid-related incidents, specifically fatal overdoses and opioid-related responses by emergency medical services (EMS).

METHODS

We calculated Enhanced 2-Step Floating Catchment Area (E2SFCA) accessibility indices for each state, as well as Wave 2 communities in each state, based on the location of providers (buprenorphine-waivered clinicians from the US Drug Enforcement Agency Active Registrants database), population-weighted centroids at the census block group level, and catchment areas defined by the state or community's average commute time. In advance of intervention initiation, we quantified the opioid-related risk environment of communities. We assessed gaps in services by using bivariate Local Moran's I analysis, incorporating accessibility indices and opioid-related incident data.

RESULTS

Massachusetts Wave 2 HCS communities had the highest rates of buprenorphine prescribers per 1000 patients (median: 165.8) compared to Kentucky (38.8) and Ohio (40.1). While urban centers in all three states had higher E2SFCA index scores compared to rural communities, we observed that suburban communities often had limited access. Through bivariate Local Moran's I analysis, we identified numerous locations with low buprenorphine access surrounded by high opioid-related incidents, particularly in communities that surrounded Boston, Massachusetts; Columbus, Ohio; and Louisville, Kentucky.

CONCLUSION

Rural communities demonstrated a great need for additional access to buprenorphine prescribers. However, policymakers should also direct attention toward suburban communities that have experienced significant increases in opioid-related incidents.

Racial Inequality in Receipt of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder

BACKGROUND

Since 2010, Black persons in the United States have had a greater increase in opioid overdose-related mortality than other groups, but national-level evidence characterizing racial and ethnic disparities in the use of medications for opioid use disorder (OUD) is limited.

METHODS

We used Medicare claims data from the 2016-2019 period for a random 40% sample of fee-for-service beneficiaries who were Black, Hispanic, or White; were eligible for Medicare owing to disability; and had an index event related to OUD (nonfatal overdose treated in an emergency department or inpatient setting, hospitalization with injection drug use-related infection, or inpatient or residential rehabilitation or detoxification care). We measured the receipt of medications to treat OUD (buprenorphine, naltrexone, and naloxone), the receipt of high-risk medications (opioid analgesics and benzodiazepines), and health care utilization, all in the 180 days after the index event. We estimated differences in outcomes according to race and ethnic group with adjustment for beneficiary age, sex, index event, count of chronic coexisting conditions, and state of residence.

RESULTS

We identified 25,904 OUD-related index events among 23,370 beneficiaries, with 3937 events (15.2%) occurring among Black patients, 2105 (8.1%) among Hispanic patients, and 19,862 (76.7%) among White patients. In the 180 days after the index event, patients received buprenorphine after 12.7% of events among Black patients, after 18.7% of those among Hispanic patients, and after 23.3% of those among White patients; patients received naloxone after 14.4%, 20.7%, and 22.9%, respectively; and patients received benzodiazepines after 23.4%, 29.6%, and 37.1%, respectively. Racial differences in the receipt of medications to treat OUD did not change appreciably from 2016 to 2019 (buprenorphine receipt: after 9.1% of index events among Black patients vs. 21.6% of those among White patients in 2016, and after 14.1% vs. 25.5% in 2019). In all study groups, patients had multiple ambulatory visits in the 180 days after the index event (mean number of visits, 6.6 after events among Black patients, 6.7 after events among Hispanic patients, and 7.6 after events among White patients).

CONCLUSIONS

Racial and ethnic differences in the receipt of medications to treat OUD after an index event related to this disorder among patients with disability were substantial and did not change over time. The high incidence of ambulatory visits in all groups showed that disparities persisted despite frequent health care contact. (Funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Aging.).

Does a Survivorship Model of Opioid Use Disorder Improve Public Stigma or Policy Support? A General Population Randomized Experiment

BACKGROUND

The chronic disease model of opioid use disorder (OUD) is promoted by many public health authorities, yet high levels of stigma persist along with low support for policies that would benefit people with OUD.

OBJECTIVE

Determine if a survivorship model of OUD, which does not imply a chronic, relapsing disease state, compared to a chronic disease model improves public stigma and support for opioid-related policies. Explore if race or gender moderates any effect.

DESIGN

Online, vignette-based randomized study.

PARTICIPANTS

US adults recruited through a market research firm.

INTERVENTION

Participants viewed one of 8 vignettes depicting a person with OUD in sustained remission. Vignettes varied in terms of the OUD model (survivorship, chronic disease) and vignette individual's race (Black, White) and gender (man, woman).

MAIN MEASURES

(1) Public stigma measured by desire for social distance, perceptions of dangerousness, and overall feelings toward the vignette individual. (2) Support for 7 opioid-related policies. Overall feelings were measured on a feelings thermometer (0/cold-100/warm). Stigma and policy support responses were measured on Likert scales dichotomized to indicate a positive (4, 5) or negative/indifferent (1-3) response.

KEY RESULTS

Of 1440 potential participants, 1172 (81%) were included in the analysis. Exposure to the survivorship model resulted in warmer feelings (mean 72, SD 23) compared to the chronic disease (mean 67, SD 23; difference 4, 95%CI 1-6). There was no effect modification from the vignette individual's race or gender. There was no significant difference between OUD models on other measures of public stigma or support for policies.

CONCLUSIONS

The survivorship model of OUD improved overall feelings compared to the chronic disease model, but we did not detect an effect of this model on other domains of public stigma or support for policies. Further refinement and testing of this novel, survivorship model of OUD could improve public opinions.

A qualitative analysis of barriers to opioid agonist treatment for racial/ethnic minoritized populations

INTRODUCTION

Clinical guidelines strongly recommend opioid agonist treatment (OAT) as first-line treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). However, racial/ethnic minoritized patients are less likely to receive OAT compared to non-Hispanic White patients. Reasons for this treatment gap must be elucidated to address racial/ethnic disparities in OAT. Our objective is to evaluate perceptions of and barriers to OAT across racial/ethnic groups in individuals with OUD (not on OAT).

METHODS

This qualitative study used semi-structured telephone interviews of adult patients (n = 41) with OUD (not currently being treated with OAT) from the Boston area from September 2020 through February 2021. We developed a codebook through author consensus based on review of themes in initial transcripts. We performed qualitative thematic analysis of the transcripts. We evaluated patients' perceptions of treatment for OUD across the study population and analyzed differences and similarities in perceptions between racial and ethnic groups.

RESULTS

Across all racial/ethnic categories in our sample, anticipated stigma was the most frequently reported barrier to OAT and most patients preferred non-OAT methods for treatment. Non-Hispanic White participants had more favorable opinions of OAT compared to racial/ethnic minoritized participants. Racial/ethnic minoritized participants reported social support as the main facilitator to addiction treatment, while non-Hispanic White participants reported self-motivation as the most important factor. Racial/ethnic minoritized participants preferred treatment for OUD via non-OAT treatments and their second most preferred option was residential treatment. Non-Hispanic White participants preferred naltrexone and their second most preferred option was non-OAT treatments.

CONCLUSIONS

Racial/ethnic minoritized patients' preference for residential treatment and social support, along with their distrust of OAT, illustrates a desire for psychosocial and peer recovery-based care that addresses social determinants of health. Addiction specialists may improve engagement with and treatment of racial/ethnic minoritized groups with culturally tailored interventions for OUD that offer psychosocial treatment in combination with OAT, and by partnering with organizations with strong ties to racial/ethnic minoritized communities. This kind of response would reflect the structural and cultural humility that is needed to adequately address the OUD needs of these underserved populations.

History of the discovery, development, and FDA-approval of buprenorphine medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder

Buprenorphine-based medications were first approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration in 2002 for the treatment of opioid dependence, or opioid use disorder (OUD) as the condition is presently known. This regulatory milestone was the outcome of 36 years of research and development, which also led to the development and approval of several other new buprenorphine-based medications. In this short review, we first describe the discovery and early development stages of buprenorphine. Second, we review key steps that led to the development of buprenorphine as a drug product. Third, we explain the regulatory approval of several buprenorphine-based medications for the treatment of OUD. We also discuss these developments in the context of the evolution of regulations and policies that have progressively improved OUD treatment availability and efficacy, although challenges remain in removing system-level, provider-level, and local-level barriers to quality treatment, to integrating OUD treatment into routine care and other settings, to reducing disparities in access to treatment, and to optimizing person-centered outcomes.

Changing Trends in Drug Overdose Mortality in Kentucky: An Examination of Race and Ethnicity, Age, and Contributing Drugs, 2016-2020

OBJECTIVES

Increased drug overdose mortality among non-Hispanic Black people in the United States in the past 5 years highlights the need for better tailored programs and services. We evaluated (1) changes in drug overdose mortality for various racial and ethnic groups and (2) drug involvement to inform drug overdose prevention efforts in Kentucky.

METHODS

We used Kentucky death certificates and postmortem toxicology reports from 2016-2020 (provisional data) to estimate changes in age-adjusted drug overdose death rates per 100 000 standard population.

RESULTS

The age-adjusted drug overdose death rate per 100 000 standard population among non-Hispanic Black residents doubled from 2016 (21.2) to 2020 (46.0), reaching the rate among non-Hispanic White residents in 2020 (48.7; P = .48). From 2016 to 2020, about 80% of these drug overdose deaths involved opioids; heroin involvement declined about 20 percentage points; fentanyl involvement increased about 30 percentage points. The number of psychostimulant-involved drug overdose deaths increased 513% among non-Hispanic Black residents and 191% among non-Hispanic White residents. Cocaine-involved drug overdose deaths increased among non-Hispanic Black residents but declined among non-Hispanic White residents. Drug overdose death rates were significantly lower among Hispanic residents than among non-Hispanic White residents.

CONCLUSIONS

Increased opioid-involved overdose deaths among non-Hispanic Black residents in Kentucky in combination with rapidly expanding concomitant psychostimulant involvement require increased understanding of the social, cultural, and illicit market circumstances driving these rapid trend changes. Our findings underscore the urgent need to expand treatment and harm reduction services to non-Hispanic Black residents with substance use disorder.

Buprenorphine treatment episode duration, dosage, and concurrent prescribing of benzodiazepines and opioid analgesics: The effects of Medicaid prior authorization policies

BACKGROUND

Buprenorphine is an effective medication for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD), but the association between prior authorization policies and quality of care for individuals receiving buprenorphine treatment is not well-understood.

METHODS

Using 2006-2013 Medicaid Analytic eXtract (MAX) data from 34 states and the District of Columbia, we identified 294,031 episodes of buprenorphine treatment for OUD among individuals aged 14-64 years. We estimated generalized difference-in-differences models to examine the association between buprenorphine prior authorization policies and changes in buprenorphine treatment quality along four dimensions: (1) duration of at least 180 days, (2) dosage of at least 8 milligrams, and concurrent prescribing of (3) opioid analgesics and (4) benzodiazepines.

RESULTS

Buprenorphine prior authorization policies were associated with an 11-percentage point reduction (p < 0.01) in the likelihood of episodes with a duration of at least 180 days in the first four years after policy implementation. The policy was not associated with changes in effective dosage or concurrent prescribing of opioid analgesics or benzodiazepines.

CONCLUSIONS

Buprenorphine prior authorization policies were associated with a sizeable and significant reduction in episodes of at least 180 days duration, underscoring the importance of identifying and removing barriers to effective and appropriate OUD care.

Exploring the provider and organization level barriers to medication for opioid use disorder treatment for Black Americans: A study protocol

Objectives

This study seeks to examine the provider and organizational factors that could be limiting the treatment of Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) for Black Americans in Texas. Formative research at the provider and organizational level will assist in understanding the current facilitators, potential barriers, and capacity for OUD treatment for Black Americans.

Study design

Using the exploration phase of the Explore, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment (EPIS) framework, the project will be a formative assessment of local factors that influence Medication for OUD (MOUD) treatment availability for Black Americans to guide the design of a culturally and locally relevant multi-level intervention strategy.

Methods

and analysis: This project will utilize emergent mixed methods to identify and clarify the problems that are obstructing treatment for Black patients with OUD. First, the perspectives of individual providers in their openness and willingness to provide MOUD treatment to Black Americans diagnosed with OUD will be explored through in-depth interviews. The organizational capacity factors associated with increased availability to treatment for Black American OUD patients will be examined with the organizational leaders using an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design. Leader and program managers of organizations that provide MOUD will be invited to participate in an online survey, with the option to participate in a follow-up in-depth interview. All qualitative data from the provider and organization staff interviews will be analyzed with a thematic analysis approach. The analysis of the two different types of qualitative data will be analyzed together, as a form of triangulation.

Conclusions

This project will assess the understandings of individual providers as well as the organizational-level awareness of the cultural contexts of MOUD intervention for Black Americans. This formative research seeks to highlight the current status of the opioid crisis in the Black community, and what additional supports are needed.

Sociodemographic differences in quality of treatment to Medicaid enrollees receiving buprenorphine

Background: Buprenorphine is a key medication to treat opioid use disorder, but little is known about how treatment quality varies across sociodemographic groups. Objective: We examined measures of treatment quality and explored variation by sociodemographic factors. Methods: We used Medicaid MAX data from 50 states from 2006 to 2014 to identify buprenorphine treatment episodes (N = 317,494). We used multivariable logistic regression to examine the quality of buprenorphine treatment along four dimensions: (1) sufficient duration, (2) effective dosage, and concurrent prescribing of (3) opioid analgesics and (4) benzodiazepines. We explored how quality varied by race/ethnicity, age, sex, and urbanicity. Results: In adjusted models, compared to non-Hispanic White individuals, non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic individuals had lower odds of receiving effective dosage (aORs = 0.79 and 0.89, respectively) and sufficient duration (aORs = 0.64 and 0.71, respectively), and lower odds of concurrent prescribing of opioid analgesics (aORs = 0.86 and 0.85, respectively) and benzodiazepines (aORs = 0.51 and 0.59, respectively). Older individuals had higher odds of sufficient duration (aORs from 1.21-1.33), but also had higher odds of concurrent opioid analgesics prescribing (aORs from 1.29-1.56) and benzodiazepines (aORs from 1.44-1.99). Females had higher odds of sufficient duration (aOR = 1.12), but lower odds of effective dosage (aOR = 0.77) and higher odds of concurrent prescribing of opioid analgesics (aOR = 1.25) and benzodiazepines (aOR = 1.16). Compared to individuals living in metropolitan areas, individuals living in non-metropolitan areas had higher odds of sufficient duration (aORs = 1.11 and 1.24) and effective dosage (aORs = 1.06 and 1.33), and lower odds of concurrent prescribing (aORs from 0.81-0.98). Conclusions: Black and Hispanic individuals were less likely to receive effective buprenorphine dosage and sufficient duration. Quality results were mixed for older and female individuals; although these individuals were more likely to receive treatment of sufficient duration, they were also more likely to be concurrently prescribed potentially contraindicated medications, and females were less likely to receive effective dosage. Findings raise concerns about adequacy of care for minority and other at-risk populations.

Development and Implementation of State and Federal Child Welfare Laws Related to Drug Use in Pregnancy

Policy Points Over the past several decades, states have adopted policies intended to address prenatal drug use. Many of these policies have utilized existing child welfare mechanisms despite potential adverse effects. Recent federal policy changes were intended to facilitate care for substance-exposed infants and their families, but state uptake has been incomplete. Using legal mapping and qualitative interviews, we examine the development of state child welfare laws related to substance use in pregnancy from 1974 to 2019, with a particular focus on laws adopted between 2009 and 2019. Our findings reveal policies that may disincentivize treatment-seeking and widespread implementation challenges, suggesting a need for new treatment-oriented policies and refined state and federal guidance.

CONTEXT

Amid increasing drug use among pregnant individuals, legislators have pursued policies intended to reduce substance use during pregnancy. Many states have utilized child welfare mechanisms despite evidence that these policies might disincentivize treatment-seeking. Recent federal changes were intended to facilitate care for substance-exposed infants and their families, but implementation of these changes at the state level has been slowed and complicated by existing state policies. We seek to provide a timeline of state child welfare laws related to prenatal drug use and describe stakeholder perceptions of implementation.

METHODS

We catalogued child welfare laws related to prenatal drug use, including laws that defined child abuse and neglect and established child welfare reporting standards, for all 50 states and the District of Columbia (DC), from 1974 to 2019. In the 19 states that changed relevant laws between 2009 and 2019, qualitative interviews were conducted with stakeholders to capture state-level perspectives on policy implementation.

FINDINGS

Twenty-four states and DC have passed laws classifying prenatal drug use as child abuse or neglect. Thirty-seven states and DC mandate reporting of suspected prenatal drug use to the state. Qualitative findings suggested variation in implementation within and across states between 2009 and 2019 and revealed that implementation of changes to federal law during that decade, intended to encourage states to provide comprehensive social services and linkages to evidence-based care to drug-exposed infants and their families, has been complicated by existing policies and a lack of guidance for practitioners.

CONCLUSIONS

Many states have enacted laws that may disincentivize treatment-seeking among pregnant people who use drugs and lead to family separation. To craft effective state laws and support their implementation, state policymakers and practitioners could benefit from a treatment-oriented approach to prenatal substance use and additional state and federal guidance.

Patterns in Geographic Distribution of Substance Use Disorder Treatment Facilities in the US and Accepted Forms of Payment From 2010 to 2021

Importance

The drug overdose crisis is a continuing public health problem and is expected to grow substantially in older adults. Understanding the geographic accessibility to a substance use disorder (SUD) treatment facility that accepts Medicare can inform efforts to address this crisis in older adults.

Objective

To assess whether geographic accessibility of services was limited for older adults despite the increasing need for SUD and opioid use disorder treatments in this population.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This longitudinal cross-sectional study obtained data on all licensed SUD treatment facilities for all US counties and Census tracts listed in the National Directory of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Treatment Programs from 2010 to 2021.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Measures included the national proportion of treatment facilities accepting Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, or cash as a form of payment; the proportion of counties with a treatment facility accepting each form of payment; and the proportion of the national population with Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, or cash payment residing within a 15-, 30-, or 60-minute driving time from an SUD treatment facility accepting their form of payment in 2021.

Results

A total of 11 709 SUD treatment facilities operated across the US per year between 2010 and 2021 (140 507 facility-year observations). Cash was the most commonly accepted form of payment (increasing slightly from 91.0% in 2010 to 91.6% by 2021), followed by private insurance (increasing from 63.5% to 75.3%), Medicaid (increasing from 54.0% to 71.8%), and Medicare (increasing from 32.1% to 41.9%). The proportion of counties with a treatment facility that accepted Medicare as a form of payment also increased over the same study period from 41.2% to 53.8%, whereas the proportion of counties with a facility that accepted Medicaid as a form of payment increased from 53.5% to 67.1%. The proportion of Medicare beneficiaries with a treatment facility that accepted Medicare as a form of payment within a 15-minute driving time increased from 53.3% to 57.0%. The proportion of individuals with a treatment facility within a 15-minute driving time that accepted their respective form of payment was 73.2% for those with Medicaid, 69.8% for those with private insurance, and 71.4% for those with cash payment in 2021.

Conclusions and Relevance

Results of this study suggest that Medicare beneficiaries have less geographic accessibility to SUD treatment facilities given that acceptance of Medicare is low compared with other forms of payment. Policy makers need to consider increasing reimbursement rates and using additional incentives to encourage the acceptance of Medicare.

Improving Research on Racial Disparities in Access to Medications to Treat Opioid Use Disorders

OBJECTIVES

The aims of the study are to review the current research on the association between access to medications for opioid use disorders (MOUD) and race, to identify gaps in research methods, and to propose new approaches to end racialized disparities in access to MOUD.

METHODS

We conducted a literature review of English language peer-reviewed published literature from 2010 to 2021 to identify research studies examining the association between race and use of, or access to, MOUD.

RESULTS

We reviewed 21 studies related to access to MOUD for Black and White populations. Of the 21 studies, 16 found that Black individuals had lower use of, or access to, MOUD than White individuals, 2 found the opposite among patients in specialty addiction treatment, 1 found that the difference changed over time, and 2 found that distance to opioid treatment programs was shorter for Black residents than for White residents.

CONCLUSIONS

To improve future research, we recommend that researchers (1) be clearer on how race is conceptualized and interpreted; (2) explicitly evaluate the intersection of race and other factors that may influence access such as income, insurance status, and geography; (3) use measures of perceived racism, unconscious bias, and self-identified race; (4) collect narratives to better understand why race is associated with lower MOUD access and identify solutions; and (5) evaluate the effect of policies, programs, and clinical training on reducing racial disparities. A multitude of studies find that Black individuals have lower access to MOUD. Researchers must now identify effective solutions for reducing these disparities.

A Taxonomy of Hospital-Based Addiction Care Models: a Scoping Review and Key Informant Interviews

BACKGROUND

There is pressing need to improve hospital-based addiction care. Various models for integrating substance use disorder care into hospital settings exist, but there is no framework for describing, selecting, or comparing models. We sought to fill that gap by constructing a taxonomy of hospital-based addiction care models based on scoping literature review and key informant interviews.

METHODS

Methods included a scoping review of the literature on US hospital-based addiction care models and interventions for adults, published between January 2000 and July 2021. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 key informants experienced in leading, implementing, evaluating, andpracticing hospital-based addiction care to explore model characteristics, including their perceived strengths, limitations, and implementation considerations. We synthesized findings from the literature review and interviews to construct a taxonomy of model types.

RESULTS

Searches identified 2,849 unique abstracts. Of these, we reviewed 280 full text articles, of which 76 were included in the final review. We added 8 references from reference lists and informant interviews, and 4 gray literature sources. We identified six distinct hospital-based addiction care models. Those classified as addiction consult models include (1) interprofessional addiction consult services, (2) psychiatry consult liaison services, and (3) individual consultant models. Those classified as practice-based models, wherein general hospital staff integrate addiction care into usual practice, include (4) hospital-based opioid treatment and (5) hospital-based alcohol treatment. The final type was (6) community-based in-reach, wherein community providers deliver care. Models vary in their target patient population, staffing, and core clinical and systems change activities. Limitations include that some models have overlapping characteristics and variable ways of delivering core components.

DISCUSSION

A taxonomy provides hospital clinicians and administrators, researchers, and policy-makers with a framework to describe, compare, and select models for implementing hospital-based addiction care and measure outcomes.

Differences in buprenorphine treatment quality across physician provider specialties

BACKGROUND

The number and types of clinicians prescribing buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) have increased over the past two decades, but there is little information on how potential indicators of quality of care to patients receiving buprenorphine vary by provider specialty.

METHODS

We used the Medicaid Analytic eXtract from 2009 to 2014 to identify buprenorphine treatment episodes. We assigned physician specialties to episodes based on whether an episode had at least one outpatient claim linked to specialists in addiction, behavioral health, opioid treatment program (OTP), pain, or primary care provider (PCP). We then used logistic regressions to estimate the association of linked physician specialty and achievement of the following process of care measures: at least 180-day duration, no co-occurring opioid analgesics, no co-occurring benzodiazepines, infectious disease screening, liver function test, drug and toxicology screenings, evaluation and management visits, and counseling.

RESULTS

Episodes linked to PCPs had significantly lower odds of achieving 180-day duration, an absence of opioid analgesics, an absence of benzodiazepines, drug and toxicology screenings, and counseling compared to addiction, behavioral health, and/or OTPs. Episodes linked to PCPs had significantly higher odds of undergoing infectious disease screenings, liver function tests, and evaluation and management visits compared to all specialty categories.

CONCLUSIONS

Episodes were more likely to achieve process of care measures related to the specialties of their physicians, but no specialty consistently demonstrated better performance compared to PCPs. Our findings highlight the need for models that can better integrate physical and behavioral health services for OUD treatment.

Individual, interpersonal, and neighborhood measures associated with opioid use stigma: Evidence from a nationally representative survey

Despite growing awareness of opioid use disorder (OUD), fatal overdoses and downstream health conditions (e. g., hepatitis C and HIV) continue to rise in some populations. Various interrelated structural forces, together with social and economic determinants, contribute to this ongoing crisis; among these, access to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and stigma towards people with OUD remain understudied. We combined data on methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone providers from SAMHSA’s 2019 directory, additional naltrexone providers from Vivitrol’s location finder service, with a nationally representative survey called “The AmeriSpeak survey on stigma toward people with OUD.” Integrating the social-ecological framework, we focus on individual characteristics, personal and family members’ experience with OUD, and spatial access to MOUD at the community level. We use nationally representative survey data from 3008 respondents who completed their survey in 2020. Recognizing that stigma is a multifaceted construct, we also examine how the process varies for different types of stigma, specifically perceived dangerousness and untrustworthiness, as well as social distancing measures under different scenarios. We found a significant association between stigma and spatial access to MOUD — more resources are related to weaker stigma. Respondents had a stronger stigma towards people experiencing current OUD (versus past OUD), and they were more concerned about OUD if the person would marry into their family (versus being their coworkers). Additionally, respondents’ age, sex, education, and personal experience with OUD were also associated with their stigma, and the association can vary depending on the specific type of stigma. Overall, stigma towards people with OUD was associated with both personal experiences and environmental measures.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Buprenorphine and Extended-Release Naltrexone Filled Prescriptions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Importance

COVID-19 disrupted delivery of buprenorphine and naltrexone treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), and during the pandemic, members of racial and ethnic minority groups experienced increased COVID-19 and opioid overdose risks compared with White individuals. However, whether filled buprenorphine and naltrexone prescriptions varied across racial and ethnic groups during the COVID-19 pandemic remains unknown.

Objective

To investigate whether disruptions in filled buprenorphine and naltrexone prescriptions differed by race and ethnicity and insurance status or payer type.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This cross-sectional study used retail pharmacy claims from May 2019 to June 2021 from the Symphony Health database, which includes 92% of US retail pharmacy claims, with race and ethnicity data spanning all insurance status and payer categories. Interrupted time series were used to estimate levels and trends of dispensed buprenorphine and naltrexone prescriptions before and after pandemic onset. Included individuals were those who filled buprenorphine and extended-release naltrexone prescriptions. Data were analyzed from July 2021 through March 2022.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Weekly rates of dispensed buprenorphine and extended-release naltrexone prescription fills per 1000 patients and proportion of longer (ie, ≥14 days' supply) buprenorphine prescription fills were calculated. Analyses were stratified by patient race and ethnicity and further by insurance status and payer type for White and Black patients.

Results

A total of 1 556 860 individuals who filled buprenorphine prescriptions (4359 Asian [0.3%], 94 657 Black [6.1%], 55 369 Hispanic [3.6%], and 664 779 White [42.7%]) and 127 506 individuals who filled extended-release naltrexone prescriptions (344 Asian [0.3%], 8186 Black [6.4%], 5343 Hispanic [4.2%], and 53 068 White [41.6%]) from May 6, 2019, to June 5, 2021, were analyzed. Prepandemic increases in buprenorphine fill rate flattened for all groups after COVID-19 onset (30.5 percentage point difference in trend; P < .001) compared with prepandemic trends. Significant level decreases in buprenorphine fills (ranging from 2.5% for Black patients; P = .009 to 4.0% for Hispanic patients; P = .009) at pandemic onset were observed for members of racial and ethnic minority groups but not White patients. At pandemic onset, rate of buprenorphine fills decreased in level for Medicare and cash-paying patients but with greater decreases for Black patients (Medicare: 10.0%; P < .001; cash: 20.0%; P < .001) than White patients (Medicare: 3.5%; P = .004; cash: 15.0%; P < .001). No decreases were found among Medicaid patients. Unlike buprenorphine, extended-release naltrexone had uniform level (from 10.0% for White patients with private insurance; P < .001 to 23.3% for Black patients with Medicare; P < .001) and trend (from 15.5 percentage points for White patients with Medicaid; P = .001 to 52.0 percentage points for Black patients with private insurance; P < .001) decreases across groups.

Conclusions and Relevance

This study found that the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with immediate decreases in filled buprenorphine prescriptions by members of racial and ethnic minority groups but not White individuals. These findings suggest that members of racial and ethnic minority groups had larger losses in buprenorphine access during the pandemic across payer types.

Opioid Use Disorder Diagnosis and Management

Opioid Use Disorder Diagnosis and ManagementThe last 20 years have seen a staggering increase in opioid-related morbidity and mortality. Although the consequences of untreated OUDs are significant, OUD is a treatable illness. This article reviews the epidemiology of OUD and its complications, screening, diagnosis, treatment, and harm reduction interventions.

Use of Medication for Opioid Use Disorder Among US Adolescents and Adults With Need for Opioid Treatment, 2019

IMPORTANCE

Medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) is the criterion standard treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), but nationally representative studies of MOUD use in the US are lacking.

OBJECTIVE

To estimate MOUD use rates and identify associations between MOUD and individual characteristics among people who may have needed treatment for OUD.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

Cross-sectional, nationally representative study using the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health in the US. Participants included community-based, noninstitutionalized adolescent and adult respondents identified as individuals who may benefit from MOUD, defined as (1) meeting criteria for a past-year OUD, (2) reporting past-year MOUD use, or (3) receiving past-year specialty treatment for opioid use in the last or current treatment episode.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

The main outcomes were treatment with MOUD compared with non-MOUD services and no treatment. Associations with sociodemographic characteristics (eg, age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, and urbanicity); substance use disorders; and past-year health care or criminal legal system contacts were analyzed. Multinomial logistic regression was used to compare characteristics of people receiving MOUD with those receiving non-MOUD services or no treatment. Models accounted for predisposing, enabling, and need characteristics.

RESULTS

In the weighted sample of 2 206 169 people who may have needed OUD treatment (55.5% male; 8.0% Hispanic; 9.9% non-Hispanic Black; 74.6% non-Hispanic White; and 7.5% categorized as non-Hispanic other, with other including 2.7% Asian, 0.9% Native American or Alaska Native, 0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and 3.8% multiracial), 55.1% were aged 35 years or older, 53.7% were publicly insured, 52.2% lived in a large metropolitan area, 56.8% had past-year prescription OUD, and 80.0% had 1 or more co-occurring substance use disorders (percentages are weighted). Only 27.8% of people needing OUD treatment received MOUD in the past year. Notably, no adolescents (aged 12-17 years) and only 13.2% of adults 50 years and older reported past-year MOUD use. Among adults, the likelihood of past-year MOUD receipt vs no treatment was lower for people aged 50 years and older vs 18 to 25 years (adjusted relative risk ratio [aRRR], 0.14; 95% CI, 0.05-0.41) or with middle or higher income (eg, $50 000-$74 999 vs $0-$19 999; aRRR, 0.18; 95% CI, 0.07-0.44). Compared with receiving non-MOUD services, receipt of MOUD was more likely among adults with at least some college (vs high school or less; aRRR, 2.94; 95% CI, 1.33-6.51) and less likely in small metropolitan areas (vs large metropolitan areas, aRRR, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.19-0.93). While contacts with the health care system (85.0%) and criminal legal system (60.5%) were common, most people encountering these systems did not report receiving MOUD (29.5% and 39.1%, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

In this cross-sectional study, MOUD uptake was low among people who could have benefited from treatment, especially adolescents and older adults. The high prevalence of health care and criminal legal system contacts suggests that there are critical gaps in care delivery or linkage and that cross-system integrated interventions are warranted.

Short communication: Relationship between social determinants and opioid use disorder treatment outcomes by gender

BACKGROUND

Social determinants of health (SDoH) influence health outcomes differentially across gender. Gender differences in SDoH have been identified at baseline in opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment studies, but less is known about how SDoH and gender intersect with OUD treatment trajectories. This study aims to identify social correlates of OUD treatment outcomes from five key areas of social determinants separately for men and women receiving buprenorphine for OUD.

METHODS

This is a secondary data analysis of a cross-sectional survey with medical record review conducted with patients recruited from an office based opioid treatment clinic. Participants completed surveys between July-September 2019. A 6-month prospective medical record review was conducted to determine treatment retention, substance use recurrence, and buprenorphine continuation. Chi square, T-tests, and Mann Whitney U tested differences in social factors and OUD outcomes by gender. Gender-stratified multivariable logistic and negative binomial regressions assessed predictors of OUD outcomes.

RESULTS

Among study participants (n = 142), women were significantly younger (p < 0.001), more likely to live in a safe neighborhood (p = 0.046), and less likely to be employed (p = 0.005) or have substance use recurrence during the study period (p = 0.033) than men. For women, employment (AOR=0.19, p = 0.031) and education (AOR=0.08, p = 0.040) were negatively associated with treatment retention. For men, no social factors were associated with OUD outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

SDoH may impact OUD treatment outcomes differently by gender. Addressing MOUD stigma and implementing patient-centered care strategies may facilitate OUD treatment continuation among employed women in recovery. Gender-related social factors should be considered in OUD treatment research.

Emergency Department-initiated Buprenorphine and Referral to Follow-up Addiction Care: A Program Description

INTRODUCTION

Emergency department (ED) initiated opioid use disorder (OUD) care is effective; however, real-world predictors of patient engagement are lacking.

OBJECTIVE

This program evaluation examined predictors of ED-based OUD treatment and subsequent engagement.

METHOD

Program evaluation in Boston, MA. Adult patients who met criteria for OUD during an ED visit in 2019 were included. Patients were included if a diagnosis of OUD or opioid-related overdose was associated with the ED visit or if they met previously validated criteria for OUD within the previous 12 months. We assessed predictors of ED-OUD treatment receipt and subsequent engagement, using Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set definition of initial encounter within 14 days of discharge and either 2 subsequent encounters or a subsequent buprenorphine prescription within 34 days of the initial encounter. We used generalized estimating equations for panel data.

RESULTS

During 2019, 1946 patients met criteria for OUD. Referrals to Bridge Clinic were made for 207 (11%), buprenorphine initiated for 106 (5%), and home induction buprenorphine kits given to 56 (3%). Following ED discharge, 237 patients (12%) had a visit within 14 days, 122 (6%) had ≥2 additional visits, and 207 (11%) received a subsequent buprenorphine prescription. Young, White, male patients were most likely to receive ED-OUD care. Patients who received ED-OUD care were more likely to have subsequent treatment engagement (adjusted rate ratio: 2.30, 95% confidence intervals: 1.62-3.27). Referrals were made less often than predicted for Black (-49%) or Hispanic/Latinx (-25%) patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Initiating treatment for OUD in the ED was associated with increased engagement in outpatient addiction care.

Self-Reported Treatment Need and Barriers to Care for Adults With Opioid Use Disorder: The US National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2015 to 2019

Objectives. To explore barriers to care and characteristics associated with respondent-reported perceived need for opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment and National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)‒defined OUD treatment gap. Methods. We performed a cross-sectional study using descriptive and multivariable logistic regression analyses to examine 2015-2019 NSDUH data. We included respondents aged 18 years or older with past-year OUD. Results. Of 1 987 961 adults, 10.5% reported a perceived OUD treatment need, and 71% had a NSDUH-defined treatment gap. There were significant differences in age distribution, health insurance coverage, and past-year mental illness between those with and without a perceived OUD treatment need. Older adults (aged ≥ 50 years) and non-White adults were more likely to have a treatment gap compared with younger adults (aged 18-49 years) and White adults, respectively. Conclusions. Fewer than 30% of adults with OUD receive treatment, and only 1 in 10 report a need for treatment, reflecting persistent structural barriers to care and differences in perceived care needs between patients with OUD and the NSDUH-defined treatment gap measure. Public Health Implications. Public health efforts aimed at broadening access to all forms of OUD treatment and harm reduction should be proactively undertaken. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(2):284-295. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306577).

Expanding Inpatient Addiction Consult Services Through Accountable Care Organizations for Medicaid Enrollees: A Modeling Study

INTRODUCTION

Addiction consult services (ACS) care for hospitalized patients with substance use disorder, including opioid use disorder (OUD). Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) could enhance access to ACS. This study extends data from Oregon's only ACS to Oregon's 15 regional Medicaid Coordinated Care Organizations (CCOs) to illustrate the potential value of enhanced in- and out-patient care for hospitalized patients with OUD. The study objectives were to estimate the effects of (1) expanding ACS care through CCOs in Oregon, and (2) increasing community treatment access within CCOs, on post-discharge OUD treatment engagement.

METHODS

We used a validated Markov model, populated with Oregon Medicaid data from April 2015 to December 2017, to estimate study objectives.

RESULTS

Oregon Medicaid patients hospitalized with OUD with care billed to a CCO (n = 5878) included 1298 (22.1%) patients engaged in post-discharge OUD treatment. Simulation of referral to an ACS increased post-discharge OUD treatment engagement to 47.0% (95% confidence interval [CI] 45.7%, 48.3%), or 2684 patients (95% CI 2610, 2758). Ten of fifteen (66.7%) CCOs had fewer than 20% of patients engage in post-discharge OUD care. Without ACS, increasing outpatient treatment such that 20% of patients engage increased the patients engaging in post-discharge OUD care from 12.9% or 296 patients in care at baseline to 20% (95% CI 18.1%, 21.4%) or 453 (95% CI 416, 491).

DISCUSSION

ACOs can improve care for patients hospitalized with OUD. Implementing ACS in ACO networks can potentially improve post-discharge OUD treatment engagement, but community treatment systems must be prepared to accept more patients as inpatient addiction care improves.

Impact of Medicaid expansion and methadone coverage as a medication for opioid use disorder on foster care entries during the opioid crisis

Between 2012 and 2018, incidents of opioid-involved injuries surged and the number of children in foster care due to parental drug use disorder increased. Treatments for opioid use disorder (OUD) might prevent or reduce the amount of time that children spend in the child welfare system. Using administrative data, we examined the impact of Medicaid expansion and state support for methadone as a medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) on first-time foster care placements. Results show that first-time foster care entries due to parental drug use disorder experienced a reduction of 28 per 100,000 children in Medicaid expansion states with methadone MOUD covered by their state Medicaid programs. The largest reduction was found among non-Hispanic Black children and the youngest children (age 0-1 years). Policies that increase OUD treatment access may reduce foster care placements by reducing parents' drug use, a risk factor for child abuse/neglect and subsequent home removal.

Users of retail medications for opioid use disorders faced high out-of-pocket prescription spending in 2011-2017

INTRODUCTION

High out-of-pocket spending has been a barrier to treatment for the estimated 2.0 million Americans suffering from opioid use disorders (OUD). This paper provides national estimates of financial costs faced by the population receiving retail medications for OUD (MOUD).

METHODS

We used pooled annual data from the 2011-2017 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), a nationally representative sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized population in the United States. The sample includes individuals who reported filling a retail prescription for buprenorphine or naltrexone, the two most common medications available from retail pharmacies to treat OUD. The main outcome is out-of-pocket spending of retail MOUD prescriptions per fill and per person.

RESULTS

Patients with retail MOUD prescriptions spent 3.4 times more out-of-pocket for prescriptions on average than the rest of the U.S. population, with 18.8% of this population paying entirely out-of-pocket for their MOUD prescriptions. Insurance coverage is associated with reduced annual out-of-pocket MOUD expenditures between $316 and $328 per year.

CONCLUSIONS

Future policies that expand insurance and address out-of-pocket spending on MOUD could increase access to medications among individuals with OUD.

Underrepresentation of diverse populations and clinical characterization in opioid agonist treatment research: A systematic review of the neurocognitive effects of buprenorphine and methadone treatment

INTRODUCTION

The relative neurocognitive effects of the two most common opioid agonist treatments (OAT; buprenorphine and methadone) for opioid use disorder (OUD) are poorly understood. The aim of this systematic review is to examine the neurocognitive effects of OAT (buprenorphine and methadone) and the clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of study samples.

METHODS

The research team queried PubMed, PsycINFO and Cochrane Reviews for articles (01/1980-01/2020) with terms related to neurocognitive testing in adults (age ≥ 18) prescribed OAT. The team extracted neurocognitive data and grouped them by domain (e.g., executive functioning, learning/memory), and assessed study quality.

RESULTS

The search retrieved 2341 abstracts, the team reviewed 278 full articles, and 32 met inclusion criteria. Of these, 31 were observational designs and one was an experimental design. Healthy controls performed better across neurocognitive domains than OAT-treated persons (buprenorphine or methadone). Compared to those with active OUD, OAT-treated persons had better neurocognition in various domains. However, in seven studies comparing buprenorphine- and methadone-treated persons, buprenorphine was associated with better neurocognition than was methadone, with moderate to large effect sizes in executive functioning, attention/working memory, and learning/memory. Additionally, OAT research underreports clinical characteristics and underrepresents Black and Latinx adults, as well as women.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest that compared to active opioid use, both buprenorphine and methadone treatment are associated with better neurocognitive functioning, but buprenorphine is associated with better executive functioning, attention/working memory, and learning/memory. These findings should be interpreted with caution given widespread methodological heterogeneity, and limited representation of ethnoracially diverse adults and women. Rigorous longitudinal comparisons with more diverse, better characterized samples will help to inform treatment and policy recommendations for persons with OUD.