• Zev Schuman-Olivier, Hilary Connery, Margaret L Griffin, Steve A Wyatt, Alan A Wartenberg, Jacob Borodovsky, John A Renner, and Roger D Weiss.
• Harvard Medical School, McLean Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Harvard/MGH Center for Addiction Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts.
• Am J Addict. 2013 Nov 1; 22 (6): 574-80.

Background And ObjectivesConcern about diversion of buprenorphine/naloxone (B/N) in the United States may affect prescribing patterns and policy decisions. This study examines addiction treatment clinician beliefs and attitudes regarding B/N diversion.MethodsParticipants (n = 369) completed a 34-item survey in 2010 during two national symposia on opioid dependence. We conducted multivariable regression, examining the relationship of perceived danger from B/N diversion with clinician characteristics and their beliefs about B/N treatment and diversion. We compared causal beliefs about diversion among clinicians with and without B/N treatment experience.ResultsForty percent of clinicians believed that B/N diversion is a dangerous problem. The belief that B/N diversion increases accidental overdoses in the community was strongly associated with perceived danger from B/N diversion.Conclusions And Scientific SignificanceAttitudes and beliefs, not education level, were associated with clinician's perceived danger from B/N diversion. Clinicians with greater B/N patient experience were more likely to believe treatment access barriers are the major cause of B/N diversion.Copyright © American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.

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