Support for buprenorphine and methadone prescription to heroin-dependent patients among New York City physicians

Methadone and buprenorphine are treatments for heroin-dependent patients. Methadone is available through highly-regulated treatment centers while buprenorphine was approved in 2002 for prescription by certified physicians. Just prior to the approval of buprenorphine, we conducted a random postal survey of 770 physicians in New York City to determine willingness to prescribe methadone or buprenorphine for heroin-dependent patients to be picked up at a pharmacy. Among 247 respondents, 36.3% would consider prescribing methadone and 17.9% were unsure, while 25.8% would consider prescribing buprenorphine and 31.8% were unsure. Willingness to prescribe methadone or buprenorphine was associated with more recent year of licensure (p = 0.044; p = 0.033), working in a hospital or clinic as opposed to an office setting (p = 0.009; p = 0.024), and being the director of a clinic or program (p = 0.031; p = 0.008). This preliminary study suggests that a substantial proportion of New York City physicians would prescribe methadone or buprenorphine to heroin-dependent patients.