Examining buprenorphine diversion through a harm reduction lens: an agent-based modeling study

Original research
par
Adams, Joëlla W. et al

Date de publication

2023

Géographie

USA

Langue de la ressource

English

Texte disponible en version intégrale

Oui

Open Access / OK to Reproduce

Oui

Évalué par des pairs

Yes

L’objectif

Our study aim was to estimate the impact of buprenorphine diversion on opioid overdose using an agent-based model calibrated to North Carolina.

Constatations/points à retenir

Our status quo scenario predicted 10,658 fatal opioid overdoses. A scenario simulating controlled prescription only of buprenorphine (i.e., no diversion) resulted in 10,741 fatal opioid overdoses versus 10,301 within a scenario simulating increased diversion. Compared to the status quo, the controlled prescription only scenario resulted in a similar number of fatal overdoses, while the scenario with increased diversion of buprenorphine resulted in 357 (3.35%) fewer fatal overdoses. Even when increasing overdose risk while using diverted buprenorphine and incorporating use by opioid naïve individuals, increased diversion did not increase overdoses compared to a scenario with no buprenorphine diversion.

La conception ou méthodologie de recherche

We simulated the progression of opioid misuse and opioid-related outcomes over a 5-year period.

Mots clés

Diversion
Evidence base
Substitution/OAT
Mortality