News Release
Buprenorphine Use Remained Stable During First Year of Pandemic, but New Prescriptions Dropped During Period
Dec 7, 2022
Buprenorphine Treatment Episodes During the First Year of COVID
A Retrospective Examination of Treatment Initiation and Retention
Published in: Journal of General Internal Medicine, Volume 38, Issue 3, pages 733-737 (February 2023). doi: 10.1007/s11606-022-07891-w
Posted on RAND.org on May 02, 2023
Background
During the COVID pandemic, overall buprenorphine treatment appeared to remain relatively stable, despite some studies suggesting a decrease in patients starting buprenorphine. There is a paucity of empirical information regarding patterns of buprenorphine treatment during the pandemic.
Objective
To better understand the patterns of buprenorphine episodes during the pandemic and how those patterns compared to pre-pandemic patterns.
Design
Pharmacy claims representing approximately 92% of all prescriptions filled at retail pharmacies in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
Participants
Individuals filling buprenorphine prescriptions indicated for treatment of opioid use disorder.
Main Measures
The number of active, starting, and ending buprenorphine treatment episodes March 13 to December 1, 2020, and the expected number of such episodes in 2020 based on the growth in treatment episodes from March 13 to December 1, 2019.
Key Results
The observed number of active buprenorphine episodes in December 2020 was comparable to the expected number, but new treatment episodes starting between March 13 and December 1, 2020, were 17.2% fewer than expected based on the 2019 experience. Similarly, the number of episodes that ended between March 13 and December 1, 2020, was 16.0% fewer than expected. Decreases from expected episode starts and ends occurred throughout the period but were greatest in the 2 months after the declaration of the public health emergency.
Conclusions and Relevance
Beneath the apparent stability of buprenorphine patient numbers during the pandemic, the flow of individuals receiving buprenorphine treatment changed substantially. Our findings shed light on how policy changes meant to support buprenorphine prescribing influenced prescribing dynamics during that period, suggesting that while policy efforts may have been successful in maintaining existing patients in treatment, that success did not extend to individuals not yet in treatment.
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