ArticleAddiction science & clinical practice2024
Patient experiences of buprenorphine dispensing from a mobile medical unit.
Article in Addiction science & clinical practice, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Real-time peer-navigation support during community re-entry for adults with opioid use disorder.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2026Trial
- Mobile but still tied down: Challenges to scaling mobile methadone through a regulatory thicket.The International journal on drug policy · 2026Article
- Let the girls know, "you can come here": qualitative experiences with harm reduction and health services among women who use drugs in Chicago.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- "Convenience, Quickness, and Compassion": Experiences of People Involved in the Criminal-Legal System Accessing Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Services From a Mobile Unit in Chicago.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026Article
- Low-Threshold Buprenorphine in Non-Traditional Settings: A Scoping Review.Substance use : research and treatmentReview
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundOverdose deaths continue to rise within the United States, despite effective treatments such as buprenorphine and methadone for opioid use disorder (OUD). Mobile medical units with the ability to dispense buprenorphine have been developed to engage patients and eliminate barriers to accessing OUD treatment. This study reports survey responses of patients of a mobile medical unit dispensing buprenorphine in areas of Chicago, IL with high overdose rates.
methodsAll patients who were dispensed buprenorphine via the mobile medical unit were invited to participate in a 7-item anonymous survey between May 24, 2023, and August 25, 2023. The survey included 5-point satisfaction scale, multiple-choice, and open-ended questions. Outcomes included satisfaction with buprenorphine dispensing from the mobile medical unit, satisfaction with filling buprenorphine at a pharmacy in the past, barriers experienced at pharmacies when filling buprenorphine, and whether the client would have started treatment that day if the mobile medical unit had not been present. Satisfaction scale and multiple-choice question responses were assessed using descriptive statistics. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare median satisfaction levels between receiving buprenorphine from the mobile medical unit versus filling a buprenorphine prescription at a community pharmacy. Open-ended questions were analyzed qualitatively using inductive thematic analysis.
results106 unique patients were dispensed buprenorphine from the mobile unit during the study period. Of these patients, 54 (51%) completed the survey. Respondents reported high satisfaction with the buprenorphine dispensing process as a part of a mobile medical unit. Of those who had previously filled buprenorphine at a pharmacy, 83% reported at least one barrier, with delays in prescription dispensing from a community pharmacy, lack of transportation to/from the pharmacy, and opioid withdrawal symptoms being the most common barriers. 87% reported they would not have started buprenorphine that same day if the mobile medical unit had not been present. Nearly half of survey participants reported having taken buprenorphine that was not prescribed to them. Qualitative analysis of open-ended survey responses noted the importance of convenient accessibility, comprehensive care, and a non-judgmental environment.
conclusionsMobile medical units that dispense buprenorphine are an innovative model to reach patients with OUD who have significant treatment access barriers. This study found that patients who experienced barriers to accessing buprenorphine from a pharmacy were highly satisfied with the mobile medical unit's buprenorphine dispensing process. Programs seeking to develop mobile buprenorphine dispensing programs should consider patient priorities of accessibility, comprehensive care, and welcoming, non-judgmental environments.
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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.