The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Prescribing Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in the Mid-Michigan Region
Background: The increasing prevalence of opioid use coupled with the emergence of the Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic impacted opioid overdoses and death rates. People with opioid use disorder (OUD) are particularly vulnerable to the pandemic’s consequences. Although Medications for Opioi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Journal of Primary Care & Community Health |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/21501319251331322 |
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| author | Nooshin C. Beygui Erin Duross Chin-I Cheng Katherine Mesaros Karissa Gawronski Juliette Perzhinsky |
| author_facet | Nooshin C. Beygui Erin Duross Chin-I Cheng Katherine Mesaros Karissa Gawronski Juliette Perzhinsky |
| author_sort | Nooshin C. Beygui |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: The increasing prevalence of opioid use coupled with the emergence of the Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic impacted opioid overdoses and death rates. People with opioid use disorder (OUD) are particularly vulnerable to the pandemic’s consequences. Although Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) are the most well supported treatment for OUD, they remain underutilized by clinicians, particularly in the primary care setting, emphasizing the importance of examining factors that impact prescribing. Objective: To assess clinicians’ prescribing practices for MOUD and assess the pandemic’s effect on MOUD prescription. To determine whether there is an association between patient-specific factors, such as mental health diagnoses and substance use disorder (SUD), and MOUD prescription practices prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A retrospective chart review assessed 500 patient charts with a diagnosis of OUD to assess demographics, MOUD prescribing, substance use, and co-morbid mental health conditions. Results: 312 charts met inclusion criteria. There was no significant difference in the percentage of new MOUD prescriptions among the selected cohort between the 2 selected timeframes, nor was there a significant difference in the prescriber/setting of new prescriptions. Cumulative analysis revealed that greater than 2/3 of the selected patients had concurrent mental health diagnoses. Greater than 50% of patients reported active non-opioid substance use. The odds of having a co-occurring SUD were significantly higher among patients treated in the emergency department and various treatment settings—including urgent care and non-primary care clinics—as compared to the primary care outpatient setting. Conclusions: Strong evidence supports the efficacy of using MOUD in primary care, yet it is underutilized in the mid-Michigan region. Overall prevalence of mental health diagnoses, SUD, MOUD prescriber practices were similar prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a high occurrence of co-occurring SUD especially among patients treated outside of the primary care setting. Future initiatives to increase clinician education around MOUD and address patient barriers to treatment are warranted. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d25a7d6ba4144fd1bc082e19abbee096 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2150-1327 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Primary Care & Community Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-d25a7d6ba4144fd1bc082e19abbee0962025-08-20T03:04:20ZengSAGE PublishingJournal of Primary Care & Community Health2150-13272025-04-011610.1177/21501319251331322The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Prescribing Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in the Mid-Michigan RegionNooshin C. Beygui0Erin Duross1Chin-I Cheng2Katherine Mesaros3Karissa Gawronski4Juliette Perzhinsky5Central Michigan University College of Medicine, Mt. Pleasant, MI, USACentral Michigan University College of Medicine, Mt. Pleasant, MI, USACentral Michigan University College of Science and Technology, Mt. Pleasant, MI, USACentral Michigan University College of Medicine, Mt. Pleasant, MI, USACentral Michigan University College of Medicine, Mt. Pleasant, MI, USACentral Michigan University College of Medicine, Mt. Pleasant, MI, USABackground: The increasing prevalence of opioid use coupled with the emergence of the Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic impacted opioid overdoses and death rates. People with opioid use disorder (OUD) are particularly vulnerable to the pandemic’s consequences. Although Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) are the most well supported treatment for OUD, they remain underutilized by clinicians, particularly in the primary care setting, emphasizing the importance of examining factors that impact prescribing. Objective: To assess clinicians’ prescribing practices for MOUD and assess the pandemic’s effect on MOUD prescription. To determine whether there is an association between patient-specific factors, such as mental health diagnoses and substance use disorder (SUD), and MOUD prescription practices prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A retrospective chart review assessed 500 patient charts with a diagnosis of OUD to assess demographics, MOUD prescribing, substance use, and co-morbid mental health conditions. Results: 312 charts met inclusion criteria. There was no significant difference in the percentage of new MOUD prescriptions among the selected cohort between the 2 selected timeframes, nor was there a significant difference in the prescriber/setting of new prescriptions. Cumulative analysis revealed that greater than 2/3 of the selected patients had concurrent mental health diagnoses. Greater than 50% of patients reported active non-opioid substance use. The odds of having a co-occurring SUD were significantly higher among patients treated in the emergency department and various treatment settings—including urgent care and non-primary care clinics—as compared to the primary care outpatient setting. Conclusions: Strong evidence supports the efficacy of using MOUD in primary care, yet it is underutilized in the mid-Michigan region. Overall prevalence of mental health diagnoses, SUD, MOUD prescriber practices were similar prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a high occurrence of co-occurring SUD especially among patients treated outside of the primary care setting. Future initiatives to increase clinician education around MOUD and address patient barriers to treatment are warranted.https://doi.org/10.1177/21501319251331322 |
| spellingShingle | Nooshin C. Beygui Erin Duross Chin-I Cheng Katherine Mesaros Karissa Gawronski Juliette Perzhinsky The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Prescribing Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in the Mid-Michigan Region Journal of Primary Care & Community Health |
| title | The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Prescribing Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in the Mid-Michigan Region |
| title_full | The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Prescribing Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in the Mid-Michigan Region |
| title_fullStr | The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Prescribing Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in the Mid-Michigan Region |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Prescribing Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in the Mid-Michigan Region |
| title_short | The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Prescribing Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in the Mid-Michigan Region |
| title_sort | effect of the covid 19 pandemic on prescribing medications for opioid use disorder in the mid michigan region |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/21501319251331322 |
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