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

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.