Resource Center: Journal article

This is an article written by CIGNA Behavioral Health's (CBH) Senior Medical Director. It describes how CIGNA addressed reimbursement, a major barrier to physician prescription of buprenorphine, by identifying an HCPCS code (H0033) that physicians can use to bill for the services provided during buprenorphine induction visits.

This article describes how to identify drug-seeking patients, and explains risk management measures.

The crisis of opioid addiction in America has been fueled by the diversion of prescription pain pills and the emergence of pure and inexpensive heroin. Until recently, benefits of and access to therapy were limited. This situation changed in 2003 with Food and Drug Administration approval of buprenorphine for the office-based treatment of opioid dependence. Now armed with a potent drug, primary care physicians can treat addicted patients in their own practice and from their own neighborhood, but first we must overcome deficiencies in our training and personal biases about addicts and what they need. This a report of one doctor’s progress.

This journal article compares the effectiveness of detoxification vs. continuing buprenorphine-naloxone therapy for treating opioid-addicted adolescents. The study followed 152 patients between the ages of 15 and 21 who were randomly selected to receive either a 12-week buprenorphone-naloxone program, or a 14-day taper.

Presently, methadone is the recommended treatment for opioid-dependent pregnant women, but is associated with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). NAS is characterized by opioid withdrawal symptoms in the newborn, which often requires longer hospitalization and treatment. Buprenorphine, FDA-approved in 2002 for the treatment of opioid dependence in non-pregnant individuals, hasn't been extensively studied during pregnancy. Yet, a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) found that buprenorphine offers an alternative to methadone in the treatment of opioid-dependent pregnant women. The study compared buprenorphine to methadone in 131 mothers and their newborns at eight international sites.

This article reviews the role of buprenorphine in treating patients with pain.

Study examining the hypothesis that the clinical effectiveness of buprenorphine maintenance is due to its ability to decrease mu-opioid receptor availability.

This website from the American Academy of Family Physicians provides information about HIPAA and how physicians can implement its guidelines in their practices.

Basic information on urine testing in potential opioid-dependent patients.

A systematic review and economic evaluation of methadone and buprenorphine for the management of opioid dependence.