Early findings on home delivery of buprenorphine and retention in treatment for opioid use disorder

Abstract Individuals with opioid use disorder face barriers accessing first-line pharmacotherapy. Home delivery interventions have been shown to improve medication adherence for other chronic diseases, but the relationship between buprenorphine home delivery and opioid use disorder treatment outcome...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Marlene C. Lira, Lauren E. Hendy, Alisha Liakas, Laura Turanchik, Clare Pritchard, Cynthia Jimes, M. Justin Coffey
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-02-01
Series:Addiction Science & Clinical Practice
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13722-025-00545-2
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849226089404039168
author Marlene C. Lira
Lauren E. Hendy
Alisha Liakas
Laura Turanchik
Clare Pritchard
Cynthia Jimes
M. Justin Coffey
author_facet Marlene C. Lira
Lauren E. Hendy
Alisha Liakas
Laura Turanchik
Clare Pritchard
Cynthia Jimes
M. Justin Coffey
author_sort Marlene C. Lira
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Individuals with opioid use disorder face barriers accessing first-line pharmacotherapy. Home delivery interventions have been shown to improve medication adherence for other chronic diseases, but the relationship between buprenorphine home delivery and opioid use disorder treatment outcomes has not been assessed. We evaluated the association between medication home delivery and retention in treatment in a feasibility study of adults who initiated telemedicine treatment for opioid use disorder and received one or more prescriptions. We described the characteristics of patients and estimated the odds of attending a telemedicine visit three and six months after enrollment as a function of home delivery use using logistic regression. The sample consisted of 337 adults with the following characteristics: mean age 40.8 years (SD 10.1), 51.0% male, and 70.9% commercially insured. In the first 30 days of treatment 6.8% (n = 23) of patients used home delivery. At three months, the percentages of individuals retained among those with and without home delivery were 82.6% and 58.9%, respectively (odds ratio [OR]: 3.31, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.10–9.96). At six months, the percentages of individuals retained among those with and without home delivery were 78.6% and 45.5%, respectively (OR: 4.39, 95% CI: 1.19–16.25, n = 203). Although uptake of medication delivery through the pharmacy partner was low within this sample of patients receiving treatment for opioid use disorder, its use was associated with increased retention in care at three and six months. Given the small sample size, low uptake, and limited statistical power, additional research is warranted.
format Article
id doaj-art-c40ae2954b914dfc8681ab2c213bed3c
institution Kabale University
issn 1940-0640
language English
publishDate 2025-02-01
publisher BMC
record_format Article
series Addiction Science & Clinical Practice
spelling doaj-art-c40ae2954b914dfc8681ab2c213bed3c2025-08-24T11:42:45ZengBMCAddiction Science & Clinical Practice1940-06402025-02-012011510.1186/s13722-025-00545-2Early findings on home delivery of buprenorphine and retention in treatment for opioid use disorderMarlene C. Lira0Lauren E. Hendy1Alisha Liakas2Laura Turanchik3Clare Pritchard4Cynthia Jimes5M. Justin Coffey6Workit HealthWorkit HealthWorkit HealthWorkit HealthWorkit HealthWorkit HealthWorkit HealthAbstract Individuals with opioid use disorder face barriers accessing first-line pharmacotherapy. Home delivery interventions have been shown to improve medication adherence for other chronic diseases, but the relationship between buprenorphine home delivery and opioid use disorder treatment outcomes has not been assessed. We evaluated the association between medication home delivery and retention in treatment in a feasibility study of adults who initiated telemedicine treatment for opioid use disorder and received one or more prescriptions. We described the characteristics of patients and estimated the odds of attending a telemedicine visit three and six months after enrollment as a function of home delivery use using logistic regression. The sample consisted of 337 adults with the following characteristics: mean age 40.8 years (SD 10.1), 51.0% male, and 70.9% commercially insured. In the first 30 days of treatment 6.8% (n = 23) of patients used home delivery. At three months, the percentages of individuals retained among those with and without home delivery were 82.6% and 58.9%, respectively (odds ratio [OR]: 3.31, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.10–9.96). At six months, the percentages of individuals retained among those with and without home delivery were 78.6% and 45.5%, respectively (OR: 4.39, 95% CI: 1.19–16.25, n = 203). Although uptake of medication delivery through the pharmacy partner was low within this sample of patients receiving treatment for opioid use disorder, its use was associated with increased retention in care at three and six months. Given the small sample size, low uptake, and limited statistical power, additional research is warranted.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13722-025-00545-2Opioid use disorderTelemedicineBuprenorphineMedication deliveryHome deliveryPharmacy barriers
spellingShingle Marlene C. Lira
Lauren E. Hendy
Alisha Liakas
Laura Turanchik
Clare Pritchard
Cynthia Jimes
M. Justin Coffey
Early findings on home delivery of buprenorphine and retention in treatment for opioid use disorder
Addiction Science & Clinical Practice
Opioid use disorder
Telemedicine
Buprenorphine
Medication delivery
Home delivery
Pharmacy barriers
title Early findings on home delivery of buprenorphine and retention in treatment for opioid use disorder
title_full Early findings on home delivery of buprenorphine and retention in treatment for opioid use disorder
title_fullStr Early findings on home delivery of buprenorphine and retention in treatment for opioid use disorder
title_full_unstemmed Early findings on home delivery of buprenorphine and retention in treatment for opioid use disorder
title_short Early findings on home delivery of buprenorphine and retention in treatment for opioid use disorder
title_sort early findings on home delivery of buprenorphine and retention in treatment for opioid use disorder
topic Opioid use disorder
Telemedicine
Buprenorphine
Medication delivery
Home delivery
Pharmacy barriers
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s13722-025-00545-2
work_keys_str_mv AT marleneclira earlyfindingsonhomedeliveryofbuprenorphineandretentionintreatmentforopioidusedisorder
AT laurenehendy earlyfindingsonhomedeliveryofbuprenorphineandretentionintreatmentforopioidusedisorder
AT alishaliakas earlyfindingsonhomedeliveryofbuprenorphineandretentionintreatmentforopioidusedisorder
AT lauraturanchik earlyfindingsonhomedeliveryofbuprenorphineandretentionintreatmentforopioidusedisorder
AT clarepritchard earlyfindingsonhomedeliveryofbuprenorphineandretentionintreatmentforopioidusedisorder
AT cynthiajimes earlyfindingsonhomedeliveryofbuprenorphineandretentionintreatmentforopioidusedisorder
AT mjustincoffey earlyfindingsonhomedeliveryofbuprenorphineandretentionintreatmentforopioidusedisorder