Difficulty Accessing Buprenorphine in the Opioid Epidemic

The New York Times just published an opinion piece on the opioid crisis and the inaccessibility of medically assisted treatment (MAT). The article references a recent consensus study report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, sharing a striking statistic:

More than 80 percent of the roughly two million people struggling with opioid addiction in the United States are not being treated with the medications most likely to nudge them into remission or prevent them from overdosing

The article continues on to recount the history of the approved medications for treating opioid dependence and explains the effectiveness of these prescription drugs in reducing the likelihood of death from addiction. The Editorial Board highlights the difficulty patients face in receiving buprenorphine treatment, including the lack of treatment availability, stigmas around MAT, and the rigorous process doctors must undergo to administer treatment.

Read the full article here. If you’re looking for treatment options near you, just search in our directory.