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Primary Care Providers And Specialists Deliver Comparable Buprenorphine Treatment Quality.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Gertner, AK; Robertson, AG; Powell, BJ; Jones, H; Silberman, P; Domino, ME
Published in: Health Aff (Millwood)
August 2020

In response to rising numbers of opioid overdose deaths, primary care providers have been called on to play a greater role in delivering buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder. However, policy makers and providers have raised concerns that expanding treatment access may reduce treatment quality and that primary care providers are not well equipped to deliver buprenorphine treatment. We investigated two research questions in response to these concerns: How did buprenorphine treatment use and quality change in North Carolina Medicaid from 2014 to 2017, and how did buprenorphine treatment quality differ between primary care providers and specialists in North Carolina Medicaid during this period? We measured buprenorphine treatment quality as patients' retention in treatment and providers' adherence to treatment guidelines. We found that the number of enrollees receiving medication treatment for opioid use disorder increased substantially, but the percentage of enrollees with the disorder receiving treatment remained low. The quality of buprenorphine treatment increased during the study period, and primary care providers provided care of comparable or higher quality compared with that of other providers. Treatment quality for buprenorphine treatment is improving, but there remains room for improvement in both use and quality. Our results support the role of primary care providers in expanding treatment for opioid use disorder.

Duke Scholars

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Published In

Health Aff (Millwood)

DOI

EISSN

2694-233X

Publication Date

August 2020

Volume

39

Issue

8

Start / End Page

1395 / 1404

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Specialization
  • Primary Health Care
  • Opioid-Related Disorders
  • Opiate Substitution Treatment
  • North Carolina
  • Methadone
  • Humans
  • Health Policy & Services
  • Buprenorphine
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
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Gertner, A. K., Robertson, A. G., Powell, B. J., Jones, H., Silberman, P., & Domino, M. E. (2020). Primary Care Providers And Specialists Deliver Comparable Buprenorphine Treatment Quality. Health Aff (Millwood), 39(8), 1395–1404. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2019.01559
Gertner, Alex K., Allison G. Robertson, Byron J. Powell, Hendree Jones, Pam Silberman, and Marisa Elena Domino. “Primary Care Providers And Specialists Deliver Comparable Buprenorphine Treatment Quality.Health Aff (Millwood) 39, no. 8 (August 2020): 1395–1404. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2019.01559.
Gertner AK, Robertson AG, Powell BJ, Jones H, Silberman P, Domino ME. Primary Care Providers And Specialists Deliver Comparable Buprenorphine Treatment Quality. Health Aff (Millwood). 2020 Aug;39(8):1395–404.
Gertner, Alex K., et al. “Primary Care Providers And Specialists Deliver Comparable Buprenorphine Treatment Quality.Health Aff (Millwood), vol. 39, no. 8, Aug. 2020, pp. 1395–404. Pubmed, doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2019.01559.
Gertner AK, Robertson AG, Powell BJ, Jones H, Silberman P, Domino ME. Primary Care Providers And Specialists Deliver Comparable Buprenorphine Treatment Quality. Health Aff (Millwood). 2020 Aug;39(8):1395–1404.

Published In

Health Aff (Millwood)

DOI

EISSN

2694-233X

Publication Date

August 2020

Volume

39

Issue

8

Start / End Page

1395 / 1404

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Specialization
  • Primary Health Care
  • Opioid-Related Disorders
  • Opiate Substitution Treatment
  • North Carolina
  • Methadone
  • Humans
  • Health Policy & Services
  • Buprenorphine