A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found progress in expanding access to buprenorphine, a medication for opioid use disorder, but identified continued opportunities to help more people start and stay in treatment. The study examined buprenorphine dispensing and administration from 2019 to 2025 in urban and rural communities across the United States.
In 2024, opioids were involved in more than two-thirds of overdose deaths in the United States, and an estimated 4.8 million people had opioid use disorder, according to the CDC. Evidence-based treatment, including medications for opioid use disorder such as buprenorphine, can reduce overdose risk and support recovery.
The study, published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, found that buprenorphine dispensing from retail pharmacies rose from 2019 to 2021, then declined through 2025. Overall dispensing rates remained higher in rural counties than in urban counties. However, emergency department buprenorphine administration and adoption increased in both urban and rural settings, though adoption remained substantially lower in rural counties.
In 2025, 31.4 percent of urban emergency departments and 10.3 percent of rural emergency departments met the study's definition for buprenorphine adoption. Additional efforts are needed to expand access in both urban and rural counties, the CDC said, including strengthening pharmacy availability, helping more health care providers offer buprenorphine treatment while reducing barriers for patients, supporting emergency department-based administration particularly in rural settings, addressing prescriber workforce gaps, and maintaining telehealth flexibilities to reduce barriers to care.