Patient-reported problems filling buprenorphine prescriptions and motivations for illicit use

• Published in: Drug and alcohol dependence reports 2022-12, Vol.5, p.100091-100091, Article 100091
• Main Authors: Winstanley, Erin L., Thacker, Emily P., Choo, Lyn Yuen, Lander, Laura R., Berry, James H., Tofighi, Babak
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Buprenorphine; Diversion; Full Length Report; Naloxone; Opioid use disorder
• ISSN: 2772-7246; 2772-7246
• DOI: 10.1016/j.dadr.2022.100091

•34% of subjects in treatment had problems filling their buprenorphine prescription.•Few (8/51) subjects in treatment reported using illicit buprenorphine to get high.•Subjects with problems filling prescriptions were more likely to report illicit use. While barriers to accessing buprenorphine (BUP) therapy have been well described, little is known about pharmacy-related barriers. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of patient-reported problems filling BUP prescriptions and determine whether these problems were associated with illicit use of BUP. The secondary objectives included identifying motivations for illicit BUP use and the prevalence of naloxone acquisition among patients prescribed BUP. Between July 2019 and March 2020, 139 participants receiving treatment for an opioid use disorder (OUD) at two sites within a rurally-located health system, completed an anonymous 33-item survey. A multivariable model was used to assess the association between pharmacy-related problems filling BUP prescriptions and illicit substance use. More than a third of participants reported having problems filling their BUP prescription (34.1%, n = 47) with the most commonly reported problems being insufficient pharmacy stock of BUP (37.8%, n = 17), pharmacist refusal to dispense BUP (37.8%, n = 17), and insurance problems (34.0%, n = 16). Of those who reported illicit BUP use (41.5%, n = 56), the most common motivations were to avoid/ease withdrawal symptoms (n = 39), prevent/reduce cravings (n = 39), maintain abstinence (n = 30), and treat pain (n = 19). In the multivariable model, participants who reported a pharmacy-related problems were significantly more likely to use illicitly obtained BUP (OR=8.93, 95% CI: 3.12, 25.52, p