Impact of COVID-19 lockdown on methadone and buprenorphine prescriptions in England primary cares: an interrupted time series analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The COVID-19 lockdown prompted changes in accessing opioid agonist therapy in England, but the lockdown and further adaptations could exacerbate inequalities in opioid agonist therapy availability across practices with different socioeconomic statuses. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the prescribing of methadone and buprenorphine and how general practices located within areas with differing socioeconomic status responded to these policies in England.

Methods

This quasi-experimental study used a health administrative practice-level dispensing database from March 2019 to February 2022 and socioeconomic deprivation from the Office for National Statistics in England. General practices that prescribed methadone or buprenorphine were

SUBMITTER: Chang YC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12750698 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature