Lowering the barriers to medication treatment for people with opioid use disorder : evidence for a low-threshold approach Issue brief (Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics) Aronowitz, Shoshana V., author. Behrends, Czarina Navos, author. Lowenstein, Margaret, author. Schackman, Bruce, author. Weiner, Janet, author. Opiate Substitution Treatment Opioid-Related Disorders -- drug therapy Health Services Accessibility Overdose deaths have reached unprecedented levels in the U.S., despite effective medications to treat opioid use disorders (OUDs). Because the regulatory and administrative barriers to treatment are high, only about 11% of people with OUD receive effective medications, which include buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone. In response, clinicians and advocates have looked to a "low-threshold" approach that reduces the stigma surrounding effective medications and facilitates their use. This brief summarizes the barriers to treatment, the evidence on the low-threshold approach, and areas for future research. The evidence suggests that low-threshold approaches can increase access to treatment, with outcomes comparable to high-barrier, standard care. Policymakers, providers, and payers should lower the barriers to medication treatment through regulatory flexibility (including telehealth prescribing), and harm reduction strategies that de-emphasize abstinence and place a priority on initiating or re-initiating treatment whenever and wherever individuals are ready to do so. Philadelphia, PA : Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, January 2022 Center for Health Economics of Treatment Interventions for Substance Use Disorder, HCV, and HIV, issuing body. Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, issuing body. Technical Report Text Illustrations 1 online resource (1 PDF file (6 pages)). nlm:nlmuid-9918335064006676-pdf 9918335064006676 http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918335064006676 English United States Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0