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Substance use

Medication for opioid use disorder

If you have opioid use disorder, you should be offered medication to treat it (buprenorphine, methadone, or naltrexone).

55% of the time this step is missed

The silent should: If you have opioid use disorder, you should be offered medication to treat it (buprenorphine, methadone, or naltrexone).

In our analysis of de-identified U.S. psychiatric records, this step was missing 55% of the time it should have happened.

This page is information to help you ask questions — it is not medical advice, and you should never start, stop, or change a medication on your own. Bring these questions to your clinician.

Questions for your doctor the next time you see them

Copy a line and ask it — these are questions, never instructions to change treatment.

  • Are medications for opioid use disorder (buprenorphine, methadone, naltrexone) an option for me?
  • Can we talk about starting one, or a referral to someone who prescribes it?

This page is informational and not medical advice. It describes care patterns across a population, not your situation. Bring these questions to a clinician who knows you.

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