County-level access to opioid use disorder medications in medicare Part D (2010-2015).

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To identify geographic disparities in access to opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment medications and county demographic and economic characteristics associated with access to buprenorphine and oral naltrexone prescribers in Medicare Part D.

Data sources/study setting

We utilized data from the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Event Standard Analytic File (2010-2015).

Study design/data collection

We used logistic regression to examine county-level access to OUD medication prescribers.

Principal findings

There was a 5.6 percentage point increase in counties with access to an OUD prescriber over the study period. However, in 2015, 60 percent of US counties lacked access to a Medicare Part D buprenorphine prescriber and over 75 percent lacked access to an

SUBMITTER: Abraham AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6407357 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature