Acknowledging Consumer Experience With Medications For OUD Treatment Could Establish Stronger Alliances With Health Care Teams

People in treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) who receive methadone or buprenorphine want more control over medication dosing, side effects, and discontinuation, based on an analysis of social media posts to the Reddit platform, specifically to the r/Methadone and the r/suboxone (buprenorphine) subreddits. A team of researchers who analyzed the Reddit posts proposed that addiction treatment professionals could help establish stronger consumer alliances and support better treatment outcomes by acknowledging consumer experiences with the medications.

The posts addressed three broad types of challenges related to taking medication for OUD, such as health care-related issues, medication-related . . .