National Outpatient Medication Utilization for Opioid and Alcohol Use Disorders from 2014 to 2016

Abstract Background and Aims Research has recommended a combination of pharmacotherapy and behavioral therapy to treat opioid use disorder (OUD) or alcohol use disorder (AUD). The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of U.S. outpatient visits in which patients had a documented OUD or AUD and in what proportion of these visits the patient was receiving medication for OUD (MOUD) or AUD (MAUD), alone or in combination with behavioral therapy. Design Cross-sectional analysis of the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) from 2014-2016. Setting NAMCS provides national estimates based on the latest census data, for all U.S. outpatient medical visits. Participants/cases All visits involving patients aged ≥18 years with an OUD or AUD diagnosis. Measurement Medications for OUD included buprenorphine, buprenorphine/naloxone, or naltrexone; medications for AUD included acamprosate, disulfiram, or naltrexone. We defined behavioral therapy as provision of psychosocial therapy, mental health counseling, or stress management. We also compared annualized data between 2014 and 2016 using the Chi-square test. Findings From 2014 to 2016, NAMCS recorded nearly 2.3 billion adult outpatient visits, including 17.1 million and 21.7 million visits involving patients with an OUD or AUD diagnosis, respectively. From 2014 to 2016, a decreased prevalence of annual visits involved AUD (11.7 vs. 9.9/1,000, P Conclusion These data highlight an opportunity to increase the use of MAUD and offer behavioral therapy to those with OUD and/or AUD.