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Home » Publications » Research Reports » Medications to Treat Opioid Addiction » Overview

# Medications to Treat Opioid Addiction

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## Overview

An estimated 2 million people in the United States suffered from substance use disorders related to prescription opioid pain medicines in 2015.1 Treatment admissions linked to these medications more than quadrupled between 2002 and 2012, although only a fraction of people with prescription opioid use disorders receive specialty treatment (18 percent in 2015).1 Overdose deaths linked to these medicines nearly quadrupled (from 4,400 to nearly 19,000, or 1.5 to 5.9 per 100,000 persons) from 2000 to 2014.2 There is now also a rise in heroin use and heroin addiction as some people shift from prescription opioids to their cheaper street relative; 591,000 people had a heroin use disorder in 2015, and nearly 13,000 Americans died of a heroin overdose in 2015.1,3 Besides overdose, consequences of the opioid crisis include a rising incidence of infants born dependent on opioids because their mothers used these substances during pregnancy4,5 and increased spread of infectious diseases, including HIV and hepatitis C (HCV), as was seen in 2015 in southern Indiana.6

Effective prevention and treatment strategies exist for opioid misuse and addiction but are highly underutilized across the United States. An initiative of the Secretary of Health and Human Services7 began in 2015 to address the complex problem of prescription opioid and heroin use. This initiative emphasizes improved education of healthcare providers in managing pain and prescribing opioids appropriately; wider availability and adoption of the effective overdose-reversing drug naloxone, which research has shown to be a lifesaver in communities where it has been distributed to people who use opioids, their families, and potential bystanders;8 and wider implementation of evidence-based treatment strategies. 

Effective medications exist to treat opioid use disorders: methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone. These medications could help many people recover from opioid addiction, but they remain highly underutilized. Fewer than half of private-sector treatment programs offer medications for opioid use disorders, and of patients in those programs who might benefit, only a third actually receive it.9 Overcoming the misunderstandings and other barriers that prevent wider adoption of these treatments is crucial for tackling the problem of opioid addiction and the epidemic of opioid overdose in the United States.

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This page was last updated May 2017

## Contents

                    - Overview
                    - How Do Medications to Treat Opioid Addiction Work?
                    - Efficacy of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder
                    - Misconceptions About Maintenance Treatment
                    - Treatment Need vs. Diversion Risk for Opioid Addiction Treatment Medications
                    - Impact of Medication for Addiction Treatment on HIV/HCV Outcomes
                    - Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder in the Criminal Justice System
                    - Opioid Addiction Medication in the Military
                    - Treatment for Pregnant Mothers and Babies
                    - How Much Does Opioid Treatment Cost?
                    - Access to Naloxone
                    - References

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##### Cite this article

NIDA. (2017, May 25). Medications to Treat Opioid Addiction. Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/medications-to-treat-opioid-addiction 

NIDA. "Medications to Treat Opioid Addiction." *National Institute on Drug Abuse*, 25 May. 2017, https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/medications-to-treat-opioid-addiction. 

NIDA. Medications to Treat Opioid Addiction. National Institute on Drug Abuse website. https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/medications-to-treat-opioid-addiction. May 25, 2017. 

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