MedPage Today (8/18, Firth) reports a study found that “a large proportion of opioid use disorder (OUD) patients getting care via telemedicine reported missed buprenorphine doses over the past year due to pharmacy-related barriers.” Among 601 patients with OUD “who responded to a survey, 31.9% reported missing buprenorphine doses due to problems filling their prescriptions.” The primary “reason (54.5%) for a fill problem was pharmacies’ need for additional stock of buprenorphine.” Other top reasons for a fill problem include “insurance issues, including prior authorization or other coverage problems: 22.4%,” and a “pharmacy’s hesitance to fill due to use of a telemedicine [professional]: 19.4%.” Furthermore, the researchers “reported wide variation by state, with 22% of respondents experiencing a fill problem at the pharmacy in Ohio compared to 45.5% of respondents in Florida.” The study was published in JAMA Network Open.
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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)