Characteristics of Physicians With a Drug Enforcement Agency Waiver to Prescribe Buprenorphine for the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder, by Prescribing Category
| Characteristic | Overall | Never a Prescriber | Former Prescribera | Current Prescriber Not Accepting New Patientsb | Current Prescriber Accepting New Patientsc | P Valued |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | 1,124 | 124 | 197 | 129 | 674 | |
| Age, y | ||||||
| Mean | 56.2 | 55.6 | 55.8 | 57.1 | 56.3 | .686 |
| <35, % | 3.7 | 6.8 | 3.7 | 2.4 | 3.4 | .336 |
| 36–55, % | 41.0 | 37.3 | 41.9 | 44.4 | 40.8 | |
| 56–65, % | 34.1 | 40.7 | 35.6 | 29.8 | 33.2 | |
| >65, % | 21.2 | 15.3 | 18.8 | 23.4 | 22.5 | |
| Sex, male, % | 75.1 | 79.7 | 69.8 | 72.6 | 76.4 | .157 |
| Region | .049 | |||||
| Northeast, % | 24.1 | 23.4 | 20.8 | 30.2 | 24.0 | |
| Midwest, % | 20.4 | 27.4 | 22.3 | 16.3 | 19.3 | |
| South, % | 34.1 | 33.1 | 38.6 | 25.6 | 34.6 | |
| West, % | 21.4 | 16.1 | 18.3 | 27.9 | 22.1 | |
| Specialty | <.001 | |||||
| Family medicine, % | 43.3 | 35.5 | 37.1 | 46.5 | 46.0 | |
| Psychiatry, % | 18.6 | 29.8 | 24.4 | 16.3 | 15.3 | |
| Internal medicine, % | 10.3 | 5.6 | 12.7 | 15.5 | 9.5 | |
| Other, % | 27.8 | 29.0 | 25.9 | 21.7 | 29.2 | |
| Practice type, private, % | 38.6 | 21.5 | 20.6 | 51.7 | 43.5 | <.001 |
| Waiver type | <.001 | |||||
| 30 patients, % | 55.8 | 93.5 | 77.7 | 55.0 | 42.6 | |
| 100 patients, % | 44.2 | 6.5 | 22.3 | 45.0 | 57.4 |
Note: Percentages within categories may not total 100 because of rounding. Missing data: age, n = 47; sex, n = 42; practice type, n = 243.
↵a Have prescribed buprenorphine, but not currently treating patients, or accepting new opioid use disorder patients.
↵b Have prescribed buprenorphine, and currently treating patients, but not accepting new opioid use disorder patients (may or may not have reached the patient limit of their waiver).
↵c Currently treating patients, and accepting new opioid use disorder patients.
↵d Overall 4-category χ2 test.