Study Shows That Minority Females (Hispanics and Non-Hispanic Blacks) Are Less Likely to Have Access to Medication for Treating Opioid Addiction

From combating the rising costs of healthcare services to preparing for the next pandemic, there is no shortage of challenges that today’s healthcare leaders face. One of the most pressing challenges, though, is healthcare inequality.

Healthcare inequality means that some demographics do not have access to the same healthcare services and privileges as other groups. While no physician would ever turn someone away due to their race or gender, systematic issues and socioeconomic disparities between different groups can still lead to a lot of negative consequences. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, Black and Hispanic Americans died due to COVID-19 at a higher rate than others despite no differences in the effects of the virus itself.

Now, new research from the Mayo Clinic has highlighted yet another unfortunate consequence of healthcare inequality, this time revealing that women, Hispanics, and Blacks are less likely to have access to life-saving medication for treating opioid addiction and dependence.

Disparities in Access to Medication for Opioid Addiction Treatment

First developed as a pain reliever itself, buprenorphine is what is known as a partial opioid agonist. This means that the drug binds to opioid receptors in the brain just like any other opioid but does not produce as strong of an effect as full opioid agonists such as heroin and fentanyl.

For years, buprenorphine has been used as one of the most effective treatments for those who are recovering from opioid addiction. By producing a limited opioid response, buprenorphine helps those in recovery wean off of their addiction, easing withdrawal symptoms and making them less likely to break their sobriety. Since buprenorphine binds to the brain’s opioid receptors, it also blocks any additional opioids that might be administered from having any effect, further reducing temptation for those in recovery.

Thanks to its effectiveness in treating opioid addiction, buprenorphine is renowned as a life-saving drug. However, healthcare inequality means that not everyone who needs buprenorphine is able to get it.

Using the OptumLabs Data Warehouse, researchers at the Mayo Clinic examined 3,110 filled prescriptions of buprenorphine from the years 2014-2020. The study found that access to the drug did go up over this time period for all demographics. Unfortunately, it also found that women, Blacks, and Hispanics were prescribed buprenorphine at a much lower rate than other groups.

Molly Jeffery, the scientific director for Mayo Clinic’s Division of Emergency Medicine Research and the study’s senior author, commented on the study saying, “The persistence of the disparities is frustrating. This is a truly lifesaving treatment. But it does appear that all groups are gaining access over time, which is what we want to see.”

While the solutions to many of the issues created by healthcare inequality continue to elude us, Dr. Jeffery claims that there is a way to help address this particular problem. As a partial opioid agonist, buprenorphine does have the potential for addiction and abuse. This stigma regarding buprenorphine has made many physicians hesitant to prescribe the drug to addiction-prone patients. However, most medical experts agree that the benefits of buprenorphine for those recovering from opioid addiction far outweigh these risks.

“We know exactly what to do to close the gap,” Dr. Jeffery says. “Get more health care providers, particularly primary care providers, involved in prescribing buprenorphine. Mayo Clinic recognizes the importance of primary care access to buprenorphine, and our clinicians are addressing the disparity gap by prescribing buprenorphine whenever appropriate and providing it through a primary care program and an addiction clinic.”

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