HHS reports increase in buprenorphine providers, naloxone prescriptions

The number of health care providers with waivers to prescribe buprenorphine for opioid use disorder increased 19% between October 2021 and September 2022 to 132,005, the Department of Health and Human Services announced today. HHS last April issued revised practice guidelines for administering buprenorphine to treat OUD, which eased requirements for clinicians to obtain a waiver to treat OUD patients with buprenorphine. According to HHS, pharmacy-filled prescriptions for the overdose reversal drug naloxone also increased 37% over the period, from a three-month average of 109,414 prescriptions in October 2021 to 150,213 in August 2022.