Study Finds Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Buprenorphine Treatment on the Rise

Racial and ethnic disparities in treatment with the addiction medication buprenorphine increased between 2006 and 2020, according to a new study. Black and Hispanic patients received treatment for less time than white patients.

Researchers found treatment duration increased among white patients from 47 days in 2006 to 53 days in 2020. Among Black patients, treatment duration increased from 35 to 44 days, while in Hispanic patients, duration decreased from 40 to 35 days during that period.

“It is very concerning,” Dr. Denis Antoine, director of the addiction treatment services clinic at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, who was not involved in the study, told USA Today. “There’s a lot of literature showing that duration of treatment leads to better outcomes.”