The impact of change in regulations on buprenorphine prescribing for opioid use disorder

In December 2022, federal regulations in the US changed to increase access to buprenorphine for patients who need treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), removing the requirement for prescribers to obtain a DATA waiver. This study's purpose was to evaluate the impact of these changes in regulations on buprenorphine prescribing for OUD at a community teaching hospital.

This single-center, retrospective cohort study investigated buprenorphine prescribing habits before and after the requirement for a DATA waiver was removed. The study focused on patients who had a diagnosis code for OUD or had buprenorphine with or without naloxone ordered for OUD from March 1 to December 20, 2022 (before the changes) and from March 1 to December 20, 2023 (after the changes). The primary outcome was the percentage of patients with OUD who received buprenorphine with or without naloxone before and after the changes in regulations.

Of the 386 patients for whom charts were reviewed, 162 patients met the inclusion criteria: 81 patients in the before group and 81 patients in the after group. Before the changes in regulations, 40% of patients with OUD had buprenorphine ordered in the inpatient setting, compared to 63% of patients after regulations were changed (P = 0.003). More patients had their home buprenorphine regimen continued in the inpatient setting in the after group than in the before group (53% vs 37%; P = 0.04).

After removal of the DATA waiver requirement for buprenorphine prescribing, more patients with OUD were prescribed buprenorphine during hospitalization and at discharge.