A new studyfindsthatmedications used to treat opioid use disorder are greatly underutilized even though they’re proven to significantly reduce chances of opioid-related deaths.
The study found that opioid overdose deaths decreased bynearly 60percentin populationsreceiving methadonetreatment andalmost 40 percent for those receiving buprenorphine, compared topatients not receiving medication-assisted treatment. In other words, if someone struggling with addiction participates in a medication assisted treatment program, they’re a whole lot less likely to die from an overdose.The study also found thatonly about one in threeoverdosed patients were provided with any medication-assisted treatment in the first year following that overdose.Also, within a year, more than a third ofthose peoplewere subsequently prescribed one or more prescriptions for opioid painkillers.
The study was conducted by the National Institutes of Health and published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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