The New York Times (5/10, Hoffman) reports, “Despite the continuing rise in opioid overdose deaths, one of the most effective treatments for opioid addiction is still drastically underprescribed in the United States, especially for Black patients, according to a large new study.”
MedPage Today (5/10, DePeau-Wilson) reports, “Black and Hispanic patients with a disability had a tougher time getting medication to treat opioid use disorder (OUD) despite frequent contact with healthcare” professionals, investigators concluded after analyzing “Medicare claims data.” The study revealed that “within 180 days of an index OUD-related event, Black patients received a prescription for buprenorphine 12.7% of the time, Hispanic patients 18.7% of the time, and white patients 23.3% of the time.” Likewise, “naloxone receipt followed a similar pattern, occurring after 14.4%, 20.7%, and 22.9% of index events, respectively, the authors reported” in the findings of a 23,370-beneficiary study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)