The Effect of Federal Policy Changes on Buprenorphine Prescribing in Massachusetts.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Two federal policy changes were recently implemented to expand access to buprenorphine. Our objective was to determine whether these policies were associated with a change in the trend of buprenorphine prescribing in Massachusetts, specifically among specialists including emergency physicians (EPs).

Methods

The Massachusetts Prescription Drug Monitoring Program database was searched for buprenorphine prescription records between May 2020 and January 2024. Monthly counts of buprenorphine prescriptions were measured for 12-month pretime and posttime periods for each policy. Monthly prescriptions were stratified by specialties of interest, and interrupted time series analyses evaluated the impact.

Results

There was no change in the total buprenorphine prescrip

SUBMITTER: Hayes JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12454894 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature