Association Between Buprenorphine and Lower Emergency Care Use
A study published in JAMA Network Open aimed to investigate acute care utilization among individuals receiving buprenorphine treatment at doses exceeding the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommendations. The authors found that adults with opioid use disorder (OUD) who were prescribed buprenorphine at doses higher than the FDA-recommended maximum (above 16 mg and 24 mg) had significantly lower rates of acute care utilization compared to those receiving the recommended doses (between 8 mg and 16 mg). These results suggest an association between higher buprenorphine doses and reduced acute care utilization, among other benefits.