A Harm Reduction Approach to Treating Opioid Use Disorder in an Independent Primary Care Practice: a Qualitative Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Stigma is a barrier to the uptake of buprenorphine to treat opioid use disorder. Harm reduction treatment models intend to minimize this stigma by organizing care around non-judgmental interactions with people who use drugs. There are few examples of implementing buprenorphine treatment using a harm reduction approach in a primary care setting in the USA.

Methods

We conducted a qualitative study by interviewing leadership, staff, and external stakeholders at Respectful, Equitable Access to Compassionate Healthcare (REACH) Medical in Ithaca, NY. REACH is a freestanding medical practice that provides buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder since 2018. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 17 participants with the objective of describing REACH's model

SUBMITTER: Kapadia SN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7815286 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature