The District of Columbia and 11 states in the mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions of the United States lack enough providers certified to prescribe medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction to meet current treatment demands, according to an analysis conducted by Avalere Health.
For the analysis, Avalere researchers looked at state-level opioid overdose death rates compiled by the CDC for 2016 and compared this data with the number of providers in the state certified to prescribe buprenorphine for opioid addiction treatment. Researchers used this comparison to develop a provider-death ratio for each state. Washington D.C., and 11 states — Iowa, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin — displayed significantly lower than average provider-death ratios. For example, Missouri had 919 fatal opioid overdose deaths in 2016, but only 286 providers certified to prescribe buprenorphine.
"For individuals who are struggling with opioid dependence, buprenorphine can be a critical step in their road to recovery," said Caroline Pearson, senior vice president at Avalere. "Extending prescribing privileges to nurse practitioners and physician assistants can facilitate access to this evidence-based treatment."
In 2016, federal legislators passed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, which permits nurse practitioners and physician assistants to gain Drug Enforcement Administration-certification to prescribe buprenorphine. On Jan. 23, the DEA amended its regulations "to incorporate these statutory and regulatory changes." The DEA began transitioning mid-level practitioners to certified MAT prescribers after the passage of CARA and has certified 5,000 mid-level practitioners to treat and prescribe medication to patients with opioid addiction.
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