Treatment Persistence Among Insured Patients Newly Starting Buprenorphine/Naloxone for Opioid Use Disorder:

Background: Persistence with medication-assisted therapy among patients with opioid use disorder has been associated with reduced likelihood of illicit opioid use. Objective: We aimed to describe treatment persistence and identify factors associated with 1-year persistence among insured patients newly initiating buprenorphine-containing pharmacotherapy. Methods: The retrospective observational cohort included employer-sponsored and managed Medicaid patients newly started on buprenorphine-containing therapy between June 30, 2010, and January 1, 2015. Persistence was measured as both a continuous and dichotomous variable (proportion of patients persistent for 1 year). Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with 1-year persistence. Results: A total of 302 patients met inclusion criteria. The median [range] number of treatment episodes was 1 [1-4]. Mean number of days on therapy during the first episode was 206 (SD = 152) days, with 40.4% (n = 122) of patients persi...