Only 1 in 5 people with opioid use disorder received medication in 2021

A study published Monday found that only about 1 out of 5 U.S. adults dealing with opioid use disorder in 2021 received medications to treat their condition, despite newer guidance recommending the use of such treatments.

The research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health found that out of 47,291 participants in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, only 22.3 percent reported receiving a medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD).

MOUDs include methadone, buprenorphine or extended-release naltrexone. In 2021, 2.5 million adults had had opioid use disorder in the past year. Outside of MOUDs specifically, 36 percent of people with opioid use disorder reported receiving any treatment for substance use disorder.

Among those who reported receiving MOUDs, 58.5 percent were men, 61.7 percent were over the age of 35, 67.1 were non-Hispanic white and 57.7 percent lived in metropolitan areas. Women, non-Hispanic Black adults, unemployed individuals, those with past cannabis use disorder and people living in non-metropolitan areas had lower odds of receiving MOUDs.

Telehealth use was associated with an increased likelihood of receiving MOUDs.

The study noted that the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) issued recommendations for MOUD use in 2020. The ASAM recommended in its revised guidance that "all FDA approved medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder should be available to all patients," while also advising that clinicians consider each patient's history and psychosocial needs.

"Medications for opioid use disorder are safe and effective. They help sustain recovery and prevent overdose deaths,” Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said in a statement.

"Failing to use safe and lifesaving medications is devastating for people denied evidence-based care," said Volkow. "What’s more, it perpetuates opioid use disorder, prolongs the overdose crisis, and exacerbates health disparities in communities across the country.”

Treatments such as methadone are particularly difficult for patients to access if they live in rural, non-metropolitan areas. Federal law currently requires that methadone only be dispensed at licensed and accredited opioid treatment programs, where patients take the drug under supervision.

There are just under 2,000 opioid treatment programs in the U.S., and they tend to cluster around high-population metropolitan areas, meaning some patients may have to drive hours away in order to receive treatment. While there is a bipartisan congressional push to expand methadone access, the legislation has stalled.

“It is not a matter of whether we should address health disparities and inequities that many racial/ethnic minority groups face when trying to access substance use treatment. We must address these issues if we hope to reverse the trend of increasing drug overdose deaths,” said Christopher M. Jones, director of the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.