Legal Limitations Associated with Microdosing Buprenorphine
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21645786 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Barbara Andraka-Christou (0000-0001-6307-6369, University of Central Florida, corresponding author), Matthew Douglas Evans (New Hope Behavioral Health Center, Mesa, Arizona, USA), Beth Tranen (Southern Arizona Health Care System, Tucson, Arizona, USA), Natasha S Mendoza (0000-0002-3261-3923, Arizona State University) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 58 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 956-959 |
| Publication date | 2023-06-07 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Substance Use & Misuse (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1082-6084 • E-ISSN: 1532-2491 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/10826084.2023.2196688 |
| PMID | 37026431 |
| OpenAlex | W4362692475 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 20 |
Background: Opioid overdose deaths in the U.S. continue to increase, largely due to the prevalence of fentanyl, a very powerful opioid, in the illicit drug supply. Buprenorphine treatment is effective for treating opioid use disorder, but it can be challenging for clinicians to introduce buprenorphine treatment to people who use fentanyl due to risks of precipitated withdrawal. Induction could be facilitated through a buprenorphine microdosing approach called “the Bernese method.” Objective: In this commentary, we describe how federal laws inadvertently limit optimal use of the Bernese method and how federal laws could be reformed to facilitate use of the Bernese method. Results: The Bernese method requires patients to continue using the opioid of misuse (e.g., fentanyl) for seven to ten days while receiving very low doses of buprenorphine. Under federal law, the typical office-based buprenorphine prescriber can neither prescribe nor administer fentanyl short-term for buprenorphine induction purposes, essentially forcing patients to continue to temporarily obtain fentanyl via the illicit market. Conclusion: The federal government has already indicated its support for increasing buprenorphine access. We argue that the government should permit short-term dispensing of fentanyl to office-based patients undergoing buprenorphine induction
Anesthesia · Buprenorphine · Fentanyl · Opioid · Opioid use disorder · Medicine · Opioid Use Disorder Treatment · Pain Management and Opioid Use · Poisoning and overdose treatments
Association of Opioid Agonist Treatment With All-Cause Mortality and Specific Causes of Death Among People With Opioid Dependence
Prescribing Practices of Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants Waivered to Prescribe Buprenorphine and the Barriers They Experience Prescribing Buprenorphine
The triple wave epidemic
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |