Mayo Clinic study shows disparities in opioid treatment access

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – A Mayo Clinic study is revealing disparities in opioid treatment access.

Buprenorphine is a medication approved by the FDA that treats opioid dependency or addiction. A study, published by Mayo Friday, shows that women, Black and Hispanic people do not have equal access to this potentially life saving medication.

The study looked at 3,110 filled prescriptions of buprenorphrine from 72,055 emergency department visits across the United States form 2014 to 2020. The data revealed that it was consistently lower access for people 41 and older, women, Black and Hispanic people.

“The persistence of the disparities is frustrating. This is a truly lifesaving treatment. But it does appear that all groups are gaining access over time, which is what we want to see,” says Molly Jeffery, Ph.D., scientific director for Mayo Clinic’s Division of Emergency Medicine Research and the study’s senior author.

According to another study, conducted in 2014, patients who receive buprenorphine were 1.82 times more likely to stay in treatment.

Researchers will be presenting Sunday in Washington, D.C. Researchers hope that the study can help close gaps and remove policy barriers, so more people can receive the effective treatment.