Table 1.
Factors Associated with Having a Waiver to Prescribe Buprenorphine
| Characteristic | Total | Have a waiver | No waiver |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean age, ±SD | 46.8 ± 9.5 | 46.9 ± 9.7 | 46.8 ± 9.4 |
| Male, N (%) | 217 (57.9) | 47 (51.1) | 170 (63.7)* |
| Race, N (%) | |||
| White | 233 (62.1) | 51 (59.3) | 182 (68.2) |
| Black | 33 (8.8) | 12 (14.0) | 21 (7.9) |
| Hispanic | 36 (9.6) | 11 (12.8) | 25 (9.4) |
| Other | 51 (13.6) | 12 (14.0) | 39 (14.6) |
| Location, N (%) | |||
| New York | 131 (34.9) | 48 (51.1) | 83 (29.5)† |
| Chicago | 43 (11.5) | 9 (9.6) | 34 (12.1) |
| Los Angeles | 55 (14.7) | 10 (10.6) | 45 (16.0) |
| Atlanta | 62 (16.5) | 14 (14.9) | 48 (17.1) |
| San Francisco | 57 (15.2) | 7 (7.4) | 50 (17.8) |
| Washington, DC | 27 (7.2) | 6 (6.4) | 21 (7.5) |
| Training, N (%) | |||
| General internal medicine | 135 (36.0) | 41 (43.6) | 94 (33.5)* |
| Family medicine | 74 (19.7) | 20 (21.3) | 54 (19.2) |
| Infectious disease | 141 (37.6) | 24 (25.5) | 117 (41.6) |
| Other | 25 (6.7) | 9 (9.6) | 16 (5.7) |
| Confident addressing drug problems, N (%) | 250 (67.6) | 73 (79.3) | 177 (63.7)† |
| Barriers, N (%) | |||
| Lack of knowledge about opiate treatment | 206 (54.9) | 40 (44.4) | 166 (63.8)† |
| The 8-hour training necessary for prescribing buprenorphine is to burdensome | 74 (19.7) | 14 (15.6) | 60 (23.1) |
| No immediate telephone access to consult with an addiction expert | 161 (42.9) | 32 (35.6) | 129 (49.8)* |
| No ability to send difficult patients to a substance abuse treatment program | 155 (41.3) | 31 (34.8) | 124 (48.1)* |
| I would experience resistance from colleagues (including staff) in my office/clinic | 106 (28.3) | 24 (26.7) | 82 (31.5) |
| The financial reimbursement would likely be inadequate | 104 (27.7) | 22 (24.2) | 82 (31.5) |
| Medicolegal risks would increase | 147 (39.2) | 26 (28.9) | 121 (46.4)† |
| Patients who have a history of opiate dependence have too many problems | 151 (40.3) | 33 (36.3) | 118 (45.4) |
| Patients might “divert” or sell buprenorphine on the street | 151 (40.3) | 36 (40.4) | 115 (44.4) |
| Patients might abuse buprenorphine by taking it too much | 113 (30.1) | 23 (26.1) | 90 (34.7) |
| Buprenorphine experience, N (%) | |||
| No waiver to prescribe buprenorphine | 281 (74.9) | – | – |
| Have a waiver to prescribe buprenorphine | 94 (25.1) | – | – |
| Completed a buprenorphine course‡ | 52 (13.9) | – | – |
| Has DEA X number‡ | 77 (20.5) | – | – |
| Has ever prescribed buprenorphine | 22 (5.9) | – | – |
*p < .05
†p < .01
‡There are individuals who reported both completing an 8-hour buprenorphine training course and having a DEA X number.