Abandonment of prescribed buprenorphine for opioid use disorder, 2020-2024
The share of newly prescribed buprenorphine prescriptions for opioid use disorder that were never dispensed almost doubled between 2020 and 2024, according to a CDC-led analysis published in JAMA Network Open.**
The retrospective cohort study linked deidentified electronic health records with administrative claims from the Optum Labs Data Warehouse, identifying 1,428 adults with commercial or Medicare Advantage cover who received a first buprenorphine prescription for opioid use disorder (OUD) between 1 January 2020 and 25 September 2024. Abandonment was defined as no dispensing record within 30 days of the prescribing date.
Overall, 369 patients (25.8%) abandoned their first prescription, with the annual proportion rising from 19% in 2020 to 37% in 2024 (*P* for trend = .02).
Patients whose prescriptions went unfilled were younger (mean 54.3 vs 57.4 years), more frequently Hispanic (10.6% vs 4.8%), more likely to hold commercial rather than Medicare Advantage cover (51.8% vs 29.4%), and faced higher pharmacy deductibles (mean $483.80 vs $296.40). Those who collected their medication were more likely to have a recorded diagnosis of OUD or overdose in the previous 180 days (54.4% vs 40.1%) or a mental health diagnosis (52.5% vs 38.5%).
The authors, led by Xinyi Jiang, PhD, MS, of the CDC’s Division of Overdose Prevention, suggest pharmacy plan deductibles may be an important factor in abandonment, and point to dispensing buprenorphine directly during clinical encounters, strengthening linkage to care, and improving pharmacy availability as ways to reduce barriers to treatment.
**Source:** Jiang X, Zhang K, Chen Y, et al. Abandonment of Prescribed Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder, 2020-2024. *JAMA Netw Open.* 2026;9(8):e2627142. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.27142
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.27142?guestAccessKey=1db66b39-91d4-4a88-b5b1-334a938dd52d&utm_source=for_the_media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_term=080426
