Treating opioid use disorder in veterans with co-occurring substance use: a qualitative study with buprenorphine providers in primary care, mental health, and pain settings

Table 1 Interview participant characteristics (N = 27)

	N	%
VA workplace type(s)^a
VA medical center (VAMC)	14	52
Community-based outpatient clinic (CBOC)	7	26
Both VAMC and CBOC	6	22
VA workplace location(s)^a
Urban	17	63
Rural	6	22
Both urban and rural	4	15
Clinic type
Primary care	12	44
Mental health	7	26
Pain	4	15
Pharmacist (multiple clinic types)^b	4	15
Clinical training
Physician	16	59
Nurse practitioner/physician assistant	7	26
Pharmacist	4	15
Buprenorphine waiver training^c
Completed outside of VA	21	78
Completed through VA	5	19
Did not complete	1	4
Addiction certification/fellowship	3	11
Received other MOUD education^d
Yes	21	78
No	6	22

	Mean (SD)	Range
Years in current position	3.5 (2.6)	8 months–10 years
Years at VA	6.9 (5.7)	8 months–24 years
Years providing buprenorphine^e	4.9 (3.3)	8 months–16 years
Estimated # of patients currently prescribing buprenorphine for^d	20.4 (22.6)	0–80 patients

MOUD medications for opioid use disorder; VA Veterans Health Administration
^aSome participants provided buprenorphine care at multiple VA facilities
^bPharmacists supported buprenorphine care in multiple clinic settings
^cAt the time of this study, pharmacists could not obtain a waiver or prescribe buprenorphine, but some had completed the waiver training
^dTypes of other MOUD training included training during residency; grand rounds and case review meetings; continuing education courses; VA conferences, trainings, and implementation interventions
^eMissing for n = 1 participant

ISSN: 1940-0640