Michigan had highest rate of patients unable to fill prescriptions for opioid disorder treatment, study says

LANSING–AthirdoftelemedicinepatientswithopioidusedisorderinMichiganhadtogowithouttheirrecoverymedicationbecauseoftroublefillingprescriptionsatapharmacy,accordingtoarecentstudy. Patientsweremostlikelytosaytheyhadtoforgobuprenorphine,amedicationthathelpspeoplerecoveringfromopioidaddictionavoidwithdrawalsymptoms,reducecravingsandpreventthemfromusingopioidsagain. Thestudysurveyed600telemedicinepatientsacrossfivestates:Florida,Michigan,NewJersey,OhioandTexas. InMichigan,36.9%ofpatientssaidtheyhadtogowithoutbuprenorphine.PatientsinOhioweretheleastlikelytosaytheyhadtogowithoutbuprenorphine,at27.3%. Inmanystates,buprenorphineisinstockatpharmaciesonlyabouthalfofthetime,androughlyoneinfivepharmaciesareunwillingtoorderit,saidLucasHill,acoauthorofthestudy. “Evenneedingtowaituntiladayortwoforthepharmacytoorderthemedication–ifthatleadstoagap,thatpersonislikelytoexperiencereallyuncomfortablewithd