National trends in buprenorphine prescribing before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Recent studies have shown that early in the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of buprenorphine prescription dispensing for opioid use disorder (OUD) were relatively stable. However, whether that pattern continued later in the pandemic is unclear. This study examines the monthly rate of dispensed buprenorphine prescriptions during the early period and the later period of the pandemic.

Methods

The study uses interrupted time series analysis to examine buprenorphine prescription dispensed, average day's supply, payment source, and the number of patients with a dispensed buprenorphine prescription. The study utilized January 2019-April 2021 data from IQVIA National Prescription Audit, PayerTrack and Total Patient Tracker databases.

Results

After an initial increase in th

SUBMITTER: Ali MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9617630 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature