Release Date
Geography
Language of Resource
Full Text Available
Open Access / OK to Reproduce
Peer Reviewed
Objective
Despite benefits, discontinuation is common, with half of patients discontinuing in the first year of treatment. Addressing OUD is a major clinical priority, yet little is known about the causes of medication discontinuation from the patient perspective.
Findings/Key points
Qualitative analysis identified the following themes relating to discontinuation: health system barriers (eg, logistical hurdles, rules and policy violations), medication effects (adverse effects; attributed adverse effects, lack of efficacy in treating chronic pain) and desire for opioid use. Patient description of decisions to discontinue buprenorphine could be multicausal, reflecting provider or system-level barriers in interaction with patient complexity or medication ambivalence.
Design/methods
Qualitative interviews (n=20)
