Provider Continuity in the Prescribing of Buprenorphine/Naloxone Within Medicare Part D

Objectives: Efforts to improve buprenorphine access for opioid use disorder have focused on increasing the number of waivered providers. However, it is unknown how efforts to increase initial prescribing result in a sustained pool of prescribers. We examine the prevalence of year-to-year provider-level buprenorphine prescribing, and provider- and state-level factors associated with provider continuity. Methods: Providers prescribing buprenorphine/naloxone within the Medicare Part D claims database were evaluated from 2013 to 2017 with prescriber continuity measured as prescriptions made in consecutive years from the same provider (N = 14,222 unique providers; 6670 in 2013). Results: The number of providers prescribing buprenorphine/naloxone within Medicare Part D increased from 2013 to 2017. The majority of providers prescribed buprenorphine/naloxone to 10 or fewer beneficiaries. Approximately 84% of providers prescribing buprenorphine/naloxone in 1 year prescribed it in the following year. Continuous prescribing from 2013 to 2017 was 59.4%, which was 86% the rate of a comparator chronic health medication (ie, lisinopril). Survival analyses indicated that female providers (adjusted hazard ratios [AHR] = 1.30, P 
Source: Journal of Addiction Medicine - Category: Addiction Tags: Original Research Source Type: research