TY - JOUR
T1 - Impact of COVID-19 Related Policy Changes on Buprenorphine Dispensing in Texas
AU - Thornton, James Douglas
AU - Varisco, Tyler J.
AU - Bapat, Shweta S.
AU - Downs, Callie G.
AU - Shen, Chan
N1 - Funding Information:
Dr. Thornton and Dr. Shen were partially supported by a grant from the National Institute of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse (1R03DA047597-01). Data for this project were purchased by the Prescription Drug Misuse Education and Research (PREMIER) Center at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/11/1
Y1 - 2020/11/1
N2 - Objectives:To measure the change in the daily number of patients receiving buprenorphine and buprenorphine prescribers during the early phase of the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic in Texas.Methods:Counts of the number of patients filling and number of providers prescribing buprenorphine were calculated for each weekday between November 4, 2019 and May 12, 2020. The change in daily patients and prescribers between March 2, 2020 and May 12, 2020, was modeled as a change in slope compared to the baseline period using autoregressive, interrupted time series regression.Results:The rate of change of daily buprenorphine prescriptions (β = -1.75, 95% CI = -5.8-2.34) and prescribers (β = -0.32, 95% CI = -1.47-0.82) declined insignificantly during the COVID-19 period compared to the baseline.Conclusions:Despite a 57% decline in ambulatory care utilization in the south-central US during March and April of 2020, health services utilization related to buprenorphine in Texas remained robust. Protecting access to buprenorphine as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold will require intensive efforts from clinicians and policy makers alike. While the presented results are promising, researchers must continue monitoring and exploring the clinical and humanistic impact of COVID-19 on the treatment of substance use disorders.
AB - Objectives:To measure the change in the daily number of patients receiving buprenorphine and buprenorphine prescribers during the early phase of the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic in Texas.Methods:Counts of the number of patients filling and number of providers prescribing buprenorphine were calculated for each weekday between November 4, 2019 and May 12, 2020. The change in daily patients and prescribers between March 2, 2020 and May 12, 2020, was modeled as a change in slope compared to the baseline period using autoregressive, interrupted time series regression.Results:The rate of change of daily buprenorphine prescriptions (β = -1.75, 95% CI = -5.8-2.34) and prescribers (β = -0.32, 95% CI = -1.47-0.82) declined insignificantly during the COVID-19 period compared to the baseline.Conclusions:Despite a 57% decline in ambulatory care utilization in the south-central US during March and April of 2020, health services utilization related to buprenorphine in Texas remained robust. Protecting access to buprenorphine as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold will require intensive efforts from clinicians and policy makers alike. While the presented results are promising, researchers must continue monitoring and exploring the clinical and humanistic impact of COVID-19 on the treatment of substance use disorders.
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U2 - 10.1097/ADM.0000000000000756
DO - 10.1097/ADM.0000000000000756
M3 - Article
C2 - 33031213
AN - SCOPUS:85095862571
SN - 1932-0620
VL - 14
SP - E372-E374
JO - Journal of Addiction Medicine
JF - Journal of Addiction Medicine
IS - 6
ER -
