Journal of substance abuse treatment
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Buprenorphine is an underutilized pharmacotherapy that can play a key role in combating the opioid epidemic. Individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) often struggle to find physicians that prescribe buprenorphine. Many physicians do not have the waiver to prescribe buprenorphine, and a large proportion of physicians that are waivered do not prescribe to capacity. This study aimed to quantitatively understand why physicians do not utilize buprenorphine for the treatment of OUD more frequently. ⋯ A logistic regression analysis was used to identify reasons that respondents indicated no willingness to increase prescribing (χ2(4)=73.18, p<0.001); main reasons were lack of belief in agonist treatment (OR 3.98, 95% CI, 1.43 to 11.1, p=0.008), lack of time for additional patients (OR 5.54, 95% CI, 3.5 to 8.7, p<0.001), and belief that reimbursement rates are insufficient (OR 2.50, 95% CI, 1.3 to 4.8, p=0.006). Differences between non-waivered and waivered physicians concerning attitudes toward buprenorphine treatment as well as resources that would increase willingness to prescribe are also discussed. Identifying barriers to buprenorphine utilization is crucial in expanding treatment options for individuals with OUD.