Brief Report: Low-Barrier Buprenorphine Initiation Predicts Treatment Retention Among Latinx and Non-Latinx Primary Care Patients: Low-Barrier Buprenorphine Initiation and Retention

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Patients are at risk of dropout while waiting for buprenorphine treatment. Study goals are to compare 3-month retention in two different methods to buprenorphine initiation among persons with opioid use disorder. METHODS: We compared 3-month treatment retention rates of low-barrier buprenorphine initiation (i.e., rapid induction) (n =58) or a traditional method of buprenorphine initiation ( n = 45) for persons with opioid use disorder seen at an urban community health center. RESULTS: Logistic regression revealed that low-barrier initiation had 11.11 greater odds of retention compared with traditional methods (p <0.001). Latinx patients benefited more than non-Latinx patients (OR = 14.79, p =.039). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: All patients were more likely to be retained using low-barrier initiation. A significantly larger effect on retention among Latinx patients was observed. SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: Rapid buprenorphine initiation increases treatment retention which improves treatment outcomes for persons with opioid use disorder. Study findings support a less restrictive services model that is even more effective for Latinx patients. (Am J Addict 2019;28:409-412).