Abstinence Rates with Office-based Buprenorphine Treatment Differ by Retention and Insurance Status

As office-based treatment of opioid dependence with buprenorphine becomes more widespread, an increasing number of reports describe practices and outcomes in real-world settings. This report describes a highly structured office-based program that included a 1—2 day inpatient induction, 5 weeks of 3-hour counseling sessions 4 times per week, then weekly counseling sessions for an additional 12 weeks. Participants attended subsequent monthly follow-up visits and were required to attend thrice weekly 12-step meetings. Full adherence was required to remain in the program. Among the 110 of 176 (63%) consecutively admitted patients available for follow-up at a minimum of 18 months.

Published In: Alcohol, Other Drugs, and Health: Current Evidence a project of the Boston Medical Center issue November/December 2009. Access checked 1/10/10. Hillary Kunins, MD, MPH, MS