Statewide Trends in Buprenorphine Prescribing in Rural and Nonrural Vermont: Analysis of Population-based Patient Pharmacy Claims.

Importance: Opioid-related mortality rates have risen dramatically over the past decade, and office-based opioid treatment using buprenorphine offers hope for combatting this trend. Vermont's policymakers, health care systems, and treatment providers have worked to expand access to treatment throughout the rural state. Objective: The objective of the current study was to characterize the trends in the number of buprenorphine prescribers and the number of patients per prescriber in Vermont over the past decade (2010-2020). Methods: We used Vermont's all-payer claims database to identify patients with buprenorphine claims between 2010 and 2020 and their prescribers. We conducted analyses of trends in the number of prescribers treating different numbers of patients, the number of patients treated by prescribers in those categories, and the number of rural (vs nonrural) patients filling buprenorphine prescriptions. We used Z tests to determine if there were statistical differences between trends. Results: The number of buprenorphine prescribers treating 10+ patients grew more rapidly than other prescriber groups (P < 0.001). Nearly half of Vermont patients in 2020 were treated by 33 high-volume prescribers who treated 100 or more patients with buprenorphine. The number of patients filling buprenorphine prescriptions in Vermont increased by 98% between 2010 and 2020, with greater increases seen among rural than nonrural residents (107% vs 72%; P = 0.008). Conclusions and Relevance: Since 2010, Vermont has increased utilization of its office-based opioid treatment capacity, particularly in rural counties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Addiction Medicine is the property of Lippincott Williams & Wilkins and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)