Starting patients on buprenorphine for opioid use disorder (OUD) in the emergency department (ED), combined with linkage to outpatient care, is an effective strategy for reducing harm, including death, from opioid use.

However, patients often face barriers to getting buprenorphine in a timely manner after leaving the ED, partly because many ED physicians don’t have the authorization needed to prescribe buprenorphine at discharge. Patients discharged without a prescription may experience a return of withdrawal symptoms before they have a chance to access follow-up care.

The timing and dose of buprenorphine during induction may be a way to address that lack of timely follow-up care, however. This study, CTN-0069-A-1, aimed to find out if a higher dose (>12mg) of buprenorphine administered during ED induction was safe and tolerable in people with OUD experiencing opioid withdrawal symptoms and helped better bridge the gap between ED discharge and outpatient treatment. Click on the View Resource button above to read the full article.