TY - JOUR
KW - buprenorphine
KW - Buprenorphine/therapeutic use
KW - Credentialing/statistics & numerical data
KW - Databases, Factual
KW - Facilities and Services Utilization/statistics & numerical data
KW - Health Services Misuse/statistics & numerical data
KW - Humans
KW - Narcotic Antagonists/therapeutic use
KW - opioid use disorder
KW - Opioid-Related Disorders/drug therapy
KW - Patients/statistics & numerical data
KW - Practice Patterns, Physicians'
KW - United States
KW - United States Department of Veterans Affairs/statistics & numerical data
KW - Veterans
AU - H. Valenstein-Mah
AU - H. Hagedorn
AU - C. L. Kay
AU - M. L. Christopher
AU - A. J. Gordon
A1 - 
AB - BACKGROUND: Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a critical concern among US veterans. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) recommends buprenorphine as a first-line treatment for OUD; however, only 35% of veterans with an OUD currently receive medication treatment. Practical barriers, including the capacity of providers to prescribe, may affect delivery of buprenorphine. We examined the current state of buprenorphine treatment within the VHA. METHODS: National VHA administrative databases were queried to identify all providers credentialed to prescribe buprenorphine as of January 2018. Data were extracted on providers' prescribing capacity (30, 100, or 275 patients concurrently) and number of patients who received buprenorphine in the prior 180 days. RESULTS: A total of 1458 VHA providers were credentialed to prescribe buprenorphine. Forty-three percent of providers had not prescribed buprenorphine to any VHA patients in the past 180 days. Of those that prescribed to at least 1 patient, providers still prescribed to fewer patients than their capacity, regardless of their patient panel size (30, 100, or 275), prescribing to 18.5 patients on average. CONCLUSIONS: VHA providers are prescribing buprenorphine below their capacity. A multipronged approach to increase the number of credentialed providers and address barriers to prescribing is needed to ensure that veterans get effective treatment for OUD.
BT - Substance abuse
C5 - Opioids & Substance Use; Education & Workforce; Healthcare Disparities
CP - 3
CY - United States
DO - 10.1080/08897077.2018.1509251
IS - 3
JF - Substance abuse
N2 - BACKGROUND: Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a critical concern among US veterans. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) recommends buprenorphine as a first-line treatment for OUD; however, only 35% of veterans with an OUD currently receive medication treatment. Practical barriers, including the capacity of providers to prescribe, may affect delivery of buprenorphine. We examined the current state of buprenorphine treatment within the VHA. METHODS: National VHA administrative databases were queried to identify all providers credentialed to prescribe buprenorphine as of January 2018. Data were extracted on providers' prescribing capacity (30, 100, or 275 patients concurrently) and number of patients who received buprenorphine in the prior 180 days. RESULTS: A total of 1458 VHA providers were credentialed to prescribe buprenorphine. Forty-three percent of providers had not prescribed buprenorphine to any VHA patients in the past 180 days. Of those that prescribed to at least 1 patient, providers still prescribed to fewer patients than their capacity, regardless of their patient panel size (30, 100, or 275), prescribing to 18.5 patients on average. CONCLUSIONS: VHA providers are prescribing buprenorphine below their capacity. A multipronged approach to increase the number of credentialed providers and address barriers to prescribing is needed to ensure that veterans get effective treatment for OUD.
PP - United States
PY - 2018
SN - 1547-0164; 0889-7077
SP - 286
EP - 288
EP - 
T1 - Underutilization of the current clinical capacity to provide buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorders within the Veterans Health Administration
T2 - Substance abuse
TI - Underutilization of the current clinical capacity to provide buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorders within the Veterans Health Administration
U1 - Opioids & Substance Use; Education & Workforce; Healthcare Disparities
U2 - 30325727
U3 - 10.1080/08897077.2018.1509251
VL - 39
VO - 1547-0164; 0889-7077
Y1 - 2018
ER -