“The number of Medicaid recipients receiving medication to treat opioid abuse increased sharply in the years after approval of a new drug, but the increase was smaller in poorer counties and areas with larger populations of black and Hispanic residents, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
While the study provides evidence that more people are receiving the medication treatment recommended for opioid use disorders, the findings suggest that work is needed to address disparities that developed as treatment expanded, according to researchers.
“These findings highlight the good news that medication therapy is being used more widely to combat the nation’s opioid epidemic,” said Dr. Bradley D. Stein, the study’s lead author and a senior physician scientist at RAND, a nonprofit research organization. “But it also raises concerns that there are racial/ethnic and income disparities that may prevent many individuals struggling with opioid addiction from receiving effective treatment.”
The findings were published online by the journal Substance Abuse.”
Read more at: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-06/rc-dio062518.php
Source: Eurekalert.org – June 25, 2018
