Consumer access to buprenorphine and methadone in certified community behavioral health centers: A secret shopper study

Background

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) has invested substantial resources in Certified Community Behavioral Health Centers (CCBHCs) to integrate mental health and addiction treatment and to address the nation's epidemic of opioid-related morbidity and mortality.

Methods

Using an audit or “secret shopper” method, we surveyed 311 CCBHCs listed in SAMHSA's Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator to identify the proportion of centers that offer buprenorphine and/or methadone treatment and the proportion of these that offer a prescriber visit during patients' first visit to the center.

Results

We received responses from 82.6% (n = 257) of the CCBHCs that we attempted to contact. Of those contacted, 33.9% said they offered agonist therapy, 33.5% said they could refer patients to a buprenorphine or methadone provider, and 32.7% said they could neither offer nor refer patients for agonist therapy. Of the agencies contacted, only 2.7% could confirm the availability of a prescriber visit at the patient's first visit to the CCBHC.

Conclusions

Despite significant federal investment to integrate addiction and mental health treatment in CCBHCs, CCBHCs have not generally become providers of low-threshold buprenorphine and/or methadone treatment for opioid use disorder. Policy-makers should consider how to better incentivize low-threshold access to buprenorphine and methadone treatment in the nation's network of CCBHCs.