Release Date
Geography
Language of Resource
Full Text Available
Open Access / OK to Reproduce
Peer Reviewed
Objective
The purpose of this study was to qualitatively assess how efforts to increase access to buprenorphine via telehealth are implemented by prescribers and pharmacists and experienced by patients.
Findings/Key points
While participants stated that telehealth for OUD treatment was a welcome option, pharmacy-level barriers to buprenorphine persisted. Geographical distance from patient to provider or pharmacist continued to serve as “red flags” for pharmacists, leading to pharmacy-level “red tape:” gatekeeping measures including geographic restrictions, telephone prescription “confirmations,” prescription cancellations and refusals. Patients’ unmet expectations of buprenorphine access in some cases led to unanticipated risks including a return to injection drug use.
Design/methods
Interviews with patients, prescribers and clinic staff, and pharmacists
