More Than Half Do Not Know Primary Care Providers Can Treat Opioid Use Disorder

61.4 percent do not know primary care providers can prescribe medication for opioid use disorder

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, July 12, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Many people do not know that a primary care provider (PCP) can provide medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD), according to a research letter published online June 28 in JAMA Network Open.

Brandon del Pozo, Ph.D., from the Brown University School of Public Health in Providence, Rhode Island, and colleagues surveyed 1,234 individuals to assess their awareness that MOUD can be prescribed by PCPs.

The researchers found that most respondents either did not know a PCP could treat people with an opioid use disorder by prescribing MOUD (61.4 percent weighted) or incorrectly believed a PCP could not (13.3 percent weighted). This was most true of Black respondents (20.9 percent weighted). Most respondents either agreed (53.9 percent) or strongly agreed (24.9 percent) that people should be able to receive OUD treatment in a PCP office. Among respondents who reported ever misusing prescription or illicit opioids, just over half (50.6 percent weighted) said they would be very comfortable and nearly a third (30.7 percent weighted) said they would be somewhat comfortable seeking MOUD from their PCP.

“Raising awareness that PCPs can [prescribe MOUD] is critical to increasing effective treatment of OUD and reducing the race-and-ethnicity-based disparities in knowledge about MOUD access observed in this study,” the authors write.