Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #118080

Cindy Parks Thomas, PA, PhD, Sharon Reif, PhD, Stanley S. Wallack, PhD, and Alex Hoyt, RN, MSN, CS-FNP. Schneider Institute for Health Policy, Brandeis University, Heller School for Social Policy and Management, P.O. Box 9110, 415 South Street, MS 035, Waltham, MA 02454-9110, 781-736-3924, reif@brandeis.edu

Qualified physicians have recently been allowed to prescribe buprenorphine for treatment of opiate addiction. With this potentially important advance in the treatment of opiate dependency, access to treatment is expected to improve for opiate addicts who have not benefited from methadone or other treatment options, and opens the door for physicians who wish to treat opiate addiction in office-based practice. However, improved access for addicts is not guaranteed with these changes. While newly approved pharmaceuticals are usually adopted rapidly in the medical field, bridging the gap between research and practice has been problematic in addiction treatment, for reasons that are not fully understood. Using data from a survey of addiction medicine specialists and general psychiatrists, this analysis investigates the extent to which buprenorphine has been adopted as a treatment option and examines the factors that have promoted or impeded its adoption. Questions to be addressed in this paper include: (1) What is the role of treatment philosophy in the decision to prescribe buprenorphine? (2) Do attitudes and beliefs about buprenorphine and addiction relate to the likelihood of prescribing buprenorphine? How do these differ for addiction specialists and general psychiatrists? (3) How do attitudes and beliefs differ for frequent and infrequent prescribers of buprenorphine? This information will allow us to more effectively address concerns about new technologies for treating substance abuse, and target information to specific types of practitioners. The lessons learned from this study may apply to any new technology or treatment option, enhancing the translation from research to practice.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe physicians who do and do not adopt buprenorphine for treating opiate addiction
• Discuss factors related to adoption and use patterns of buprenorphine
• Understand the relationship between treatment philosophy and attitudes and the decision-making process

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.