Increased Treatment Engagement and Adherence: FlexibleManagement with Prolonged-Release Buprenorphine inTreatment of Opioid Dependence

Opioid dependence (OD) is effectively treated with well-evidenced regimens including psychosocial and opioid agonistpharmacotherapy. Many do not engage with treatment services; reasons include the burden of mandatory supervision andstigma. Injectable prolonged-release buprenorphine (PRB) offers choice andflexibility in treatment. Experience reported heredemonstrates the potential for PRB to enable wider engagement with treatment services. Treatment was successful in patientsunable to attend daily observed therapy due to work commitments, unable to use services for fear of stigma, or having notachieved goals on previous attempts with conventional approaches. PRB therapy was clinically successful without withdrawalsigns or evidence of use of other drugs. Patient-reported outcomes were positive including maintained ability to work,manageable detoxification experience, and stigma-free treatment. This work provides evidence of PRB benefit in expandingtreatment engagement.