Buprenorphine Available at 39.4 Percent of U.S. Pharmacies in 2023

Increases in availability seen across neighborhood types, but pharmacies located in Black, Latinx neighborhoods less likely to dispense

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 3, 2025 (HealthDay News) — From 2017 to 2023, there was an increase in buprenorphine availability overall, reaching 39.4 percent in 2023, according to a study published online Sept. 2 in Health Affairs.

Jenny S. Guadamuz, Ph.D., from the University of California Berkeley, and colleagues examined trends in the availability of buprenorphine at U.S. retail pharmacies in 2017 to 2023. Pharmacies with buprenorphine availability were defined as those that dispensed at least one prescription of buprenorphine each month in a given year.

The researchers found an increase in the availability of buprenorphine from 33.1 percent of pharmacies in 2017 to 39.4 percent of pharmacies in 2023. Increases were seen across all neighborhood types; pharmacies located in Black and Latinx neighborhoods were less likely to dispense buprenorphine than those serving White or diverse neighborhoods (17.8 and 16.5 percent, respectively, versus 45.8 and 30.9 percent, respectively, in 2023). Buprenorphine availability increased in most states, but declined significantly in Washington, D.C., and in five states between 2017 and 2023. In nearly all states, availability was lowest in Black and Latinx neighborhoods.

“If policymakers fail to introduce policies that increase equitable access to buprenorphine at local pharmacies, existing racial and ethnic disparities in opioid use disorder treatment and recovery will likely worsen,” Guadamuz said in a statement.