ArticleDrug and alcohol dependence2022
Buprenorphine treatment episode duration, dosage, and concurrent prescribing of benzodiazepines and opioid analgesics: The effects of Medicaid prior authorization policies.
Article in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evidence-based framework for identifying opioid use disorder in administrative data: A systematic review and methodological development study.Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) · 2026Pooled it
- Medicaid Prior Authorization and Discontinuation of Buprenorphine.Journal of addiction medicine · 2026Article
- Buprenorphine utilization following removal of prior authorization requirements in the Kentucky Medicaid population.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2026Article
- State Prior Authorization Prohibitions and Buprenorphine Retention Among Privately Insured Patients.JAMA health forum · 2026Article
- Subgroup identification of disparities in buprenorphine discontinuation in opioid-use disorder: A Virtual Twins machine learning approach using nationwide United States claims data, 2006-2022.PLOS mental health · 2026Article
- State Laws Banning Prior Authorization For Medications For Opioid Use Disorder Increased Substantially, 2015-23.Health affairs (Project Hope) · 2025Article
- Association of state medicaid prescription cap policies with trajectories of buprenorphine use for opioid use disorder.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2025Article
- States With Substantial Increases In Buprenorphine Uptake Did So With Increased Medicaid Prescribing, 2018-24.Health affairs (Project Hope) · 2025Article
- Procedural Prescription Denials and Risk of Acute Care Utilization and Spending Among Medicaid Patients.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Community-level factors influencing the duration of buprenorphine treatment in individuals with opioid use disorder: a cohort study using US longitudinal claims data.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- Use of in-network insurance benefits is critical for improving retention in telehealth-based buprenorphine treatment.Health affairs scholar · 2024Article
- Removal of Medicaid Prior Authorization Requirements and Buprenorphine Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder.JAMA health forum · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundBuprenorphine is an effective medication for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD), but the association between prior authorization policies and quality of care for individuals receiving buprenorphine treatment is not well-understood.
methodsUsing 2006-2013 Medicaid Analytic eXtract (MAX) data from 34 states and the District of Columbia, we identified 294,031 episodes of buprenorphine treatment for OUD among individuals aged 14-64 years. We estimated generalized difference-in-differences models to examine the association between buprenorphine prior authorization policies and changes in buprenorphine treatment quality along four dimensions: (1) duration of at least 180 days, (2) dosage of at least 8 milligrams, and concurrent prescribing of (3) opioid analgesics and (4) benzodiazepines.
resultsBuprenorphine prior authorization policies were associated with an 11-percentage point reduction (p < 0.01) in the likelihood of episodes with a duration of at least 180 days in the first four years after policy implementation. The policy was not associated with changes in effective dosage or concurrent prescribing of opioid analgesics or benzodiazepines.
conclusionsBuprenorphine prior authorization policies were associated with a sizeable and significant reduction in episodes of at least 180 days duration, underscoring the importance of identifying and removing barriers to effective and appropriate OUD care.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.