Buprenorphine prescription compliance: an original observational and longitudinal study

Buprenorphine is one of the main opioid dependence treatments, especially in France, where it has been widely prescribed since 1996. But it can easily be misused and its prescription has to be followed up. In the literature, we found several studies on buprenorphine, but we did not find long-term ecological follow-up studies on buprenorphine prescription and compliance.

The main purpose of this study was to define stability or instability of the prescription of buprenorphine to opiate-addicted patients. We carried out a forecast study on prescription of buprenorphine over a 10-year period, using software collecting prescription data. We performed statistical analysis of the conditions and transitions of opiate-addicted patients treated with buprenorphine along appointments.

We showed that 70% of buprenorphine prescriptions are stable; we assumed that our results correspond to buprenorphine compliance. The retention in treatment was associated with a positive evolution of prescription stability. Prior criminal records were the only factor linked to instability. We showed that collecting precise prescription data in face to face appointments using software, including legal prescription rules that guide practitioners in following buprenorphine prescription compliance, seemed to be a useful method to measure buprenorphine compliance.