Statewide Availability of Buprenorphine/Naloxone in Acute Care Hospitals

Objectives: Evaluate the availability of buprenorphine/naloxone for inpatients with opioid use disorder in a state's acute care hospitals. Methods: An audit study of all acute care hospitals in New Mexico was performed. Hospitals were surveyed on the availability of buprenorphine/naloxone on their inpatient formularies and their ability to obtain buprenorphine/naloxone within 1 day should a patient need it. Results: Of the surveyed hospitals, 45.5% did not have buprenorphine/naloxone on their inpatient formularies. Of the 26 counties in New Mexico with acute care hospitals, 10 did not have buprenorphine/naloxone available for inpatients. Three of these counties have drug overdose death rates equal to or higher than the state average. Conclusions: In 1 predominately rural state with an opioid overdose death rate higher than the national average, approximately half of acute care hospitals had buprenorphine/naloxone available to patients on their inpatient formulary. Efforts to increase buprenorphine/naloxone availability in hospitals are needed, particularly in rural areas where there may not be other locations to access treatment for opioid use disorder.