Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40727322›Full record

ArticleDrug and alcohol dependence reports2025

Addressing wholesale distributor barriers to buprenorphine access: Consensus recommendations from the PhARM-OUD expert panel.

Tyler J Varisco, Douglas Thornton, Taha Hussain, Hannah Fish, Joshua Bolin, David Dadiomov, Ekere J Essien, Matthew A Wanat, Diane Ginsburg, Jeanne Waggener and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Drug and alcohol dependence reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Tyler J VariscoPharmacy Addictions Research and Medicine Program, University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy, US.
Douglas ThorntonThe Prescription Drug Misuse Education and Research Center, University of Houston College of Pharmacy, USA.
Taha HussainThe Prescription Drug Misuse Education and Research Center, University of Houston College of Pharmacy, USA.
Hannah FishThe National Community Pharmacists Association, USA.
Joshua BolinThe National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, USA.
David DadiomovTitus Family Department of Clinical Pharmacy, The University of Southern California College of Pharmacy, USA.
Ekere J EssienDepartment of Pharmaceutical Health Outcomes and Policy, University of Houston College of Pharmacy, USA.
Matthew A WanatThe Prescription Drug Misuse Education and Research Center, University of Houston College of Pharmacy, USA.
Diane GinsburgDivision of Pharmacy Practice, University of Texas at Austin, College of Pharmacy, USA.
Jeanne WaggenerConsulting, LLC.
Jeffrey P BratbergThe University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy, USA.
Bethany DiPaulaThe University of Maryland College of Pharmacy, USA.
Lucas G HillDepartment of Pharmacy and Therapeutics, University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, USA.
PhARM-OUD Working Group

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective: Less than one-in-four patients with opioid use disorder receive opioid agonist treatment. This is in part due to the fact that less than 60 % of pharmacies stock and dispense buprenorphine products for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD). Pharmacies do not stock for many reasons but wholesale distribution remains a major barrier to buprenorphine availability. The objective of this study was to create consensus recommendations to improve wholesale distribution of buprenorphine for the treatment OUD in community pharmacies. Methods: This study involved a qualitative elicitation study, grounded in the theory of planned behavior, with seven-focus groups and 46 total pharmacists in Texas, California, and West Virginia. Results of the reflexive thematic analysis were used to create a vignette describing pharmacy-based barriers to buprenorphine supply. Non-legislative recommendations to improve buprenorphine purchase were created through a four-round Delphi study with 22 experts in psychiatry, pharmacy practice, drug distribution, and drug-policy and public comment review between June 2022 and September 2024. Results: The elicitation study demonstrated that distributor thresholds led to buprenorphine rationing, care interruptions, payer limitations, and fear of enforcement in community pharmacies. The expert panel recommended six, consensus actions that pharmacists, DEA and distributors could take to avoid further interruptions in buprenorphine availability. Conclusion: DEA and distributors can act now, without congressional intervention, to ensure that the terms of the opioid injunctive relief agreement do not impede the ability of pharmacists to provide care to persons with OUD.

Indexed as

BuprenorphineDrug and narcotic controlMedication systemsPharmacists

Identifiers

PMID40727322
PMCPMC12301831

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