Long-term medications for opioid addiction are effective but difficult to access

A new report says that medicines to treat opioid use disorder are effective, but that the vast majority of people who need the treatments aren’t getting them. Previous research has shown that opioid-addicted individuals are up to 50 percent less likely to die when they are being treated long term with methadone or buprenorphine. But in 2017, about 80 percent of those who needed treatment did not receive it. The report, issued by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, outlines several major barriers to treatment, including strict restrictions on how medications can be administered. Making access to current medications “much broader and more equitable is a high priority for making meaningful progress in saving lives,” the report says.