The Authors’ Own Words: Buprenorphine Shared Medical Appointments for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence in a Homeless Clinic

The Authors’ Own Words:

We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

Buprenorphine Shared Medical Appointments for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence in a Homeless Clinic

Sara L. Doorley, MD; Cheryl J. Ho, MD; Elizabeth Echeverria, LCSW; Charles Preston, PhD; Huy Ngo, MD; Ahmad Kamal, MD, MSc; & Chinazo O. Cunningham, MD, MS

Substance Abuse Vol. 38, Iss. 1, 2017

“This manuscript describes a novel strategy to provide integrated, whole person care to homeless persons with opioid use disorders. The findings of this manuscript are noteworthy for the high treatment retention rates found at 12 and 24 weeks. These findings are even more noteworthy when considering the social and medical vulnerability of the individuals included in this preliminary evaluation. Furthermore, this manuscript contributes to the literature by exploring two areas of relative research paucity- buprenorphine treatment of homeless persons and office-based buprenorphine treatment using shared medical appointments. The findings of this manuscript can help guide the development of unique treatment models to serve real-world, complex patients with opioid dependence and highlights how innovation and the provision of more than usual resources can achieve health equity for vulnerable patient populations disproportionately burdened by disease.”