Injectable Buprenorphine for MAT Increases Tenfold Since 2021

A leading medication for opioid use disorder is reaching far more people than it did a few years ago, but where you live still shapes your odds of getting it.

A new Rutgers Health study found that use of long-acting injectable buprenorphine, a form of medication-assisted treatment, rose sharply from 2021 to 2024, even as access remained highly uneven across the United States.

What the Study Found

The study, conducted by researchers at Rutgers and Columbia and published in Health Affairs, examined pharmacy prescription claims from 2021 to 2024, drawing on more than 4 billion prescriptions dispensed each year. The headline number is striking: prescriptions for the injectable form of buprenorphine increased tenfold over that period.

That growth was not spread evenly. Researchers found marked increases among patients with Medicaid, the joint federal and state program that provides free or low-cost coverage.

Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Alaska, and Ohio had the highest rates of long-acting injectable prescriptions, which researchers suggested may reflect state Medicaid policies that made this option easier to access. Advanced practice clinicians, rather than physicians alone, drove much of the prescribing.

Why Medical Detox and Supervision Matter

Buprenorphine is used both to manage opioid withdrawal and to support long-term stability, and it should be started under medical supervision. Beginning buprenorphine at the wrong time can trigger precipitated withdrawal, a sudden worsening of symptoms, which is one reason medical detox and clinician oversight matter.

Detox is the first step, not the whole journey, and stabilizing on the right medication is where safe withdrawal management often begins.

Understanding Buprenorphine

Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist, meaning it activates the opioid receptor only partly. It blunts the effects of opioids such as heroin and fentanyl and lowers overdose risk, without producing the full effect of those drugs.

Traditional forms are taken daily under the tongue or by mouth. The long-acting injectable, first approved by the FDA in 2018, is given as a monthly shot that slowly releases medication into the bloodstream, keeping levels steady over a full month.

As study coauthor Stephen Crystal, director of the Rutgers Center for Health Services Research, explained, an injectable option can be lifesaving for people who struggle to stabilize on a daily pill.

Steady medication levels may reduce cravings and offer month-long protection, which may lower overdose risk for people at high risk, such as those recovering from a prior overdose or living in unstable situations.

Medication-Assisted Treatment Is Evidence Based

Medication-assisted treatment combines FDA-approved medications like buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone with counseling and behavioral support.

It is an evidence-based standard of care for opioid use disorder, not a lesser path or a way of trading one drug for another. The tenfold rise in injectable prescriptions reflects growing clinical use of a tool designed to keep people safer during and after withdrawal.

Finding Medical Detox

If you or someone you love is dependent on opioids, medically supervised care makes withdrawal safer and connects you to medication-assisted treatment that can protect against overdose.

You can search medical detox centers near you and ask specifically whether a program offers buprenorphine, including the long-acting injectable form. For free, confidential help any time, call SAMHSA’s national helpline at 1-800-662-4357, or call 800-996-6135(Sponsored) to find medically supervised detox programs.