Recommendation For OTC Buprenorphine Joins Opioid Abuse Epidemic Discussion
Executive Summary
Boston University researchers recommend allowing pharmacists to dispense buprenorphine without prescriptions to expand access among the 2m consumers with opioid use disorder and help reduce the estimated 130 overdose deaths each day in the US. "It is important to attempt to address the opioid epidemic in new, effective, and safe ways. Increasing access to buprenorphine, a relatively safe medication, without a prescription could prove helpful for treating persons with OUD," say Payel Jhoom Roy and Michael Stein.
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