Only 4 in 10 U.S. retail pharmacies carry buprenorphine, with access even more limited in Black and Latino communities
Faced with a worsening drug crisis, policymakers in recent years have made it much easier for doctors to prescribe the highly effective opioid addiction treatment buprenorphine. However, many patients may still struggle to find pharmacies carrying the treatment, finds new research led by CHAMP faculty Jenny Guadamuz along with the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics.
Buprenorphine was available at just 39% of U.S. retail pharmacies in 2023, a modest increase from 33% in 2017, according to the study published Sept. 2 in Health Affairs. But disparities in who can access the treatment have persisted. Pharmacies in predominantly Black neighborhoods (18%) and Latino neighborhoods (17%) remain significantly less likely to carry buprenorphine as those in white neighborhoods (46%).
Buprenorphine is one of several medications that can ease opioid cravings and withdrawal, and it is the only one that can be prescribed in primary care settings and dispensed at retail pharmacies. Because these treatments are milder opioids and considered controlled substances, they historically have been subject to tight prescribing and dispensing rules.
Recent efforts to ease prescribing rules include the 2023 elimination of the so-called “X-waiver” that required doctors to receive specialized training and registration to prescribe the treatment. However, dispensing rates have changed little, suggesting that pharmacy regulations aimed at preventing opioid (and buprenorphine) diversion, abuse and misuse continue to discourage pharmacies from carrying the treatment, particularly in minority neighborhoods and some areas hit hardest by the opioid epidemic.