Opioid Use Disorder Treatment in Primary Care: What do Patients Think?
Find key results from a new survey examining Americans' attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge about opioid use disorder treatment in primary care, here.
Primary care physicians (PCPs) can be an effective resource in expanding access to buprenorphine, the only office-based medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) that has shown to be effective in reducing overdose mortality. Evidence suggests patients may respond favorably to MOUD in primary care settings, but little is known on their awareness, beliefs, and attitudes toward the treatment in that setting. To explore this gap in research, investigators surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1234 US adults and published the findings recently in JAMA Network Open. Key findings on the results in the slides below.
When asked if PCPs can treat a patient using MOUD, 25.3% of respondents said yes, 13.3% said no, and 61.4% were unsure.
Nearly a quarter (24.2%) of respondents strongly agreed that PCPs should treat OUD in their offices, 52.8% agreed, 19.0% disagreed, and 4.1% strongly disagreed.
Approximately half (50.6%) of participants with any history of opioid misuse stated they were very comfortable seeking MOUD from their PCP, 30.7% were somewhat comfortable, 10.5% were somewhat uncomfortable, and 8.3% were very uncomfortable.
Among respondents with no history of opioid misuse, 31.9% said they would be very comfortable referring others to their PCP for MOUD, 42.0% said they would be somewhat comfortable, 18.5% said they would be somewhat uncomfortable, and 7.7% said they would be very uncomfortable.
Reference: Del Pozo B, Park JN, Taylor BG, et al. Knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about opioid use disorder treatment in primary care. JAMA Netw Open. Published online June 28, 2024. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.19094
