- Fewer than one in 10 primary care providers in the U.S. can prescribe the opioid-addiction medication buprenorphine, and access is even more scarce in rural counties hardest hit by overdoses, a new study suggests.
As of 2017, almost 95per cent of clinicians with waivers to prescribe buprenorphine were physicians. About 4per cent were nurse practitioners and about 1per cent were physician assistants, the analysis of government data found. Counties with more college graduates gained more providers able to prescribe buprenorphine than communities with fewer college graduates, the study also found.
"The kind of doctor most people actually get to see is legally prohibited from offering the most accessible and effective form of treatment for opioid addiction," Kertesz, who wasn't involved in the study, said by email."The fact that most of our health care workforce is not ready to treat a devastating and treatable disease is a tragedy that we need to fix."
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