Impact of reduced restrictions on buprenorphine prescribing during COVID-19 among patients in a community-based treatment program

BACKGROUND: Medications such as buprenorphine are considered the gold standard for the treatment of opioid use disorders. This study aimed to determine whether less restrictive buprenorphine prescribing practices during the COVID-19 pandemic impacted retention in and adherence to buprenorphine among patients accessing treatment from 2018-2020 at a community-based syringe services program. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, we compared retention in treatment before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, with relaxed restrictions acting as the intervention in a natural experiment, we conducted a sub-analysis of “continuity participants” who accessed treatment services both before and during the COVID-19 period. Records of 418 historical control patients treated with buprenorphine before COVID-19 were compared to 88 patients enrolled during COVID-19 (n=43 remote telemedicine and n=45 remote provider with patient on-site). Cox proportional hazards regressions were used to assess risk factors for treatment discontinuation. The sub-analysis used proportion of days covered (PDC) differences before and during COVID-19 (n=164) for a paired analysis in a nonparametric bootstrap test. RESULTS: The risk of discontinuation was 71% lower in those accessing remote telemedicine during COVID-19 (HR=0.29; CI: 0.18, 0.47) and 51% lower in those accessing their remote provider onsite during COVID-19 (HR=0.49; CI:0.31, 0.77), compared to the historical control group. The average PDC did not significantly differ before and during COVID-19 (difference=2.4%; CI:-0.6%, 5.3%). CONCLUSIONS: The risk of discontinuing treatment was lower in both COVID-19 treatment groups compared to historical controls. Less restrictive buprenorphine prescribing guidelines during COVID-19 led to improved retention in care over 6-months.