Korthuis acknowledged that some treatment providers have resisted using buprenorphine even with adult patients, claiming it's replacing one drug for another.
Results of the new study suggest that most adolescent residential treatment centers could benefit from such support.conducted the study by cataloging treatment centers that serve adolescents in the U.S., primarily through a database maintained by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA. They identified 354 residential treatment centers nationally, but fewer than half of them served adolescents.
After connecting with 160 residential treatment facilities serving adolescents nationwide, the researchers found: Among the other 121 facilities that did not offer buprenorphine or weren't sure, 57 indicated adolescents prescribed buprenorphine by their own clinician could stay on it at least temporarily, although some stated they would discontinue it before discharge.