Few residency programs train physicians on treating pregnant women with opioid use disorder

Few family residency programs in the U.S. are providing training on prescribing medication for opioid use disorder to pregnant women, according to a new survey. Looking at data from more than 5,100 family medicine physicians who responded to American Board of Family Medicine surveys in 2016, 2017, and 2018, researchers found that only 153 said they both deliver babies and prescribe the opioid use disorder medication buprenorphine. Another 108 said they provide maternity care and prescribe buprenorphine, but do not deliver babies. At the same time, 25% of those who said they prescribe buprenorphine to expectant mothers came from a minority of family medicine residency programs. The authors emphasize creating incentives for training programs to integrate opioid use disorder treatment with maternal care to improve access to the vulnerable population of mothers with substance use disorder. 

Correction: Yesterday's item on the coronavirus outlook misspelled the name of the former homeland security official who was at the Harvard forum on Friday. Her name is spelled Juliette Kayyem.