Published in:
01-06-2017 | Substance Use and Related Disorders (F Levin and E Dakwar, Section Editors)
Update on Barriers to Pharmacotherapy for Opioid Use Disorders
Authors:
Anjalee Sharma, Sharon M. Kelly, Shannon Gwin Mitchell, Jan Gryczynski, Kevin E. O’Grady, Robert P. Schwartz
Published in:
Current Psychiatry Reports
|
Issue 6/2017
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Abstract
Purpose of Review
The recent heroin and prescription opioid misuse epidemic has led to a sharp increase in the number of opioid overdose deaths in the USA. Notwithstanding the availability of three FDA-approved medications (methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone) to treat opioid use disorder, these medications are underutilized. This paper provides an update from the recent peer-reviewed literature on barriers to the use of these medications.
Findings
These barriers are interrelated and can be categorized as financial, regulatory, geographic, attitudinal, and logistic. While financial barriers are common to all three medications, other barriers are medication-specific.
Summary
The adverse impact of the current opioid epidemic on public health can be reduced by increasing access to effective pharmacotherapy for opioid use disorder.