"There's always somebody that you can identify with": a qualitative study of patient perspectives on buprenorphine group medical visits.

BACKGROUND

Buprenorphine (BUP) treatment has been successfully integrated into primary care and other general medical settings; however, potential BUP prescribers frequently report inadequate training and resources to provide psychosocial counseling as barriers to providing care. Group medical visits, which combine psychosocial support and chronic condition management, have been described for BUP treatment, but few studies have explored what is gained and/or lost by offering BUP treatment in groups instead of individual visits.

METHODS

Five focus groups with 3-11 participants each were conducted at an urban community health center that housed a mature office-based BUP treatment program. Participants were persons with opioid use disorder (OUD) who had previously received BUP treatment. A semi-structured interview guide covered the following domains: experience with BUP, experience with group counseling, and preferences for BUP in a group format or individual setting. Qualitative analysis followed a modified grounded theory approach.

RESULTS

Of 33 participants, 28 were male, median age range was 50-54, 20 identified as Hispanic/Latinx, and 24 reported past experiences with substance use disorder treatment groups. Four main themes were: (1) Groups can address the psychological aspects of addiction; (2) Groups introduce positive peer support; (3) Balancing OUD treatment and management of other chronic conditions; (4) Groups must be voluntary.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings demonstrate that many persons with OUD taking BUP desire assistance with recovery skills, peer support, and learning about the risks and benefits of BUP. Group medical visits can efficiently deliver these services in primary care, but findings also emphasize that group counseling will be best received when voluntary and group members are committed and authentic.